Nagasaki Lantern Festival Features 'Face-Changing' Mastery

Feb 26, 2024 | News On Japan

NAGASAKI - The Nagasaki Lantern Festival concluded Sunday with large crowds enjoying the traditional Chinese art of "Bian Lian," or face-changing performances.

The "Nagasaki Lantern Festival" is a winter tradition in Nagasaki, a city with a long history of international exchange, timed to coincide with the Chinese Lunar New Year. This year, for the first time in four years, the festival was held on its usual scale.

On the final day, February 25th, a face-changing show took place at one of the venues, the Nagasaki Confucius Shrine in Oura-machi, Nagasaki City, attracting about 800 visitors, leading to entry restrictions to stop overcrowding. The audience gave a round of applause to the skillful performers, who donned colorful costumes and changed their masks one after another. A 23-year-old woman from Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture, who visited with her sister, said, "I was watching closely, but I couldn't figure out how they changed the masks, and it was interesting. Now I want to go around the city and enjoy sightseeing." This year's "Nagasaki Lantern Festival" took place over a period of 17 days, from February 9th, and according to Nagasaki City, a record-breaking 1.21 million people visited during the festival.

Source: NHK

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