Japanese Stone Lanterns (Ishi-Doro) - Japanese Garden Lantern Styles

[@bentonjackson8698]

Thanks, I'm taking pottery classes, and learned how to make Japanese style lanterns last year. I made a couple, and more recently have been inspired to start exploring the forms more. This is a helpful guide.

[@ShizenStyle]

Very cool! Glad it helped.

[@the_ghost_of_teddy_perkins]

Nice, simple, straightforward video. I learned what style my lanterns are. Thanks!

[@ShizenStyle]

Glad it helped!

[@gilbertslalaland4986]

I have 4 large lanterns which I haven’t Placed in my yard . Thank you for sharing

[@ShizenStyle]

You are so welcome! Hope this helps.

[@lynnmanning2795]

Thank you ,I have used my lantern properly.

[@nunyabiznes4471]

Thank you. I’m doing a stroll garden through my property of nine acres. I’m being really careful to get the rocks right and the lanterns. This was a nice video. Thanks for making it.

[@ShizenStyle]

That sounds like a big project! Have fun with that try to work in some winding curves along the way.

[@nunyabiznes4471]

@ I have🙂 it’s looking amazing!

[@Shelley-Nicole]

Thanks so much, I had noticed different styles of lanterns but just assumed they were personal interpretations of each style, not that they had meanings behind each too 👍😁

[@kachi2782]

This was really interesting. I bought an old house in Kanazawa, which had an overgrown garden, and so i started cleaning it up and the more i did, the more Lanterns started coming up, in every shaped, in every style and height. So far i have found 17, the tallest which is like the first style you describe, is 3 meters tall if i put the pieces together, but it will necessitate a crane to do that as i can't even move the hat of the lantern and the leg must be over a ton in weight. Then there is a four legged one like the one you have in front of your house, and this one is gigantic, the hat is so large i could use it as a table for 8 people easily, and it is never going to move even an inch. The house was an old Yashiki and i assume some people with power of means lived there once upon a time. But they really used a lot of Lanterns and there is also a large bridge made of stone, which is basically just an arch, which is also never going to move an inch without a crane and then rocks everywhere, three of them as tall or taller than me. I don't think even a crane can move them, which makes me wonder how on earth people brought them here over a century ago. I love this house but i realized after buying it that now i must create or recreate the garden according to those lanterns and bridge, because i am never going to be able to move them. I don't even know how i am going to put back together the one which has fallen.

[@ShizenStyle]

Wow! It sounds like you found some hidden treasure there with your house purchase. Cleaning and restoring that garden sounds like a huge but fun project. You might want to talk to a local Japanese landscaper to at least help you reset the large lanterns and you can do the rest. They should have a small crane that can move it for you.

[@kachi2782]

@@ShizenStyle Thank you. I will follow your advice and ask for professional help from a local Niwashi. I am still wondering how they managed to bring those lanterns and rocks 250 years ago. There is no way horses or bulls could pull these and how did they lift those things is beyond me. Do you know if ancient Japanese had any knowledge of cranes ? I will start in the fall because now it is getting a tad too hot to do garden work, and because the house was uninhabited for a few years a few Japanese hornets Suzumebachi, have made the garden their home, so i am going to have to start by taking care of that. Do you have any idea is zuzume bachi have a natural predator ? I don't like the idea of killing animals (I'm a vet) or using chemicals so if i bring something that is higher on the food chain it would be a more natural solution.

[@geterdunn2733]

Thank you for sharing

[@ShizenStyle]

You bet!

[@Storm_Lily]

I see a lot of videos on Japanese stone lanterns, but never see them lit. Could you please show how you light them? Thank you! ✌🌸

[@ShizenStyle]

They're actually not lit that often. There is usually a back side that is open so you can put a candle in if you want. Some of the more modern stone lanterns have a hole drilled through each layer so that you could run wiring up through the middle to turn it on and off with a switch.

[@Storm_Lily]

@@ShizenStyle thank you. I just didn't know if it was a candle, or some other oil burning device used, or if lanterns were just decorative, never used since I've never seen one lit. Thanks again. ✌🌸

[@stalkek]

Thank you for this

[@TheRogueRockhound]

Cool man, ty

[@AnkerAngil69]

Are there any English language books about stone lanterns (types/styles/history)?

[@ShizenStyle]

Sorry, I've only come across some small sections in general Japanese garden books in English. Maybe it's something I should work on...

[@ravingcyclist624]

Excellent information ! Thanks. I just learned that I have three snow lanterns. Not many places to purchase things for a Japanese garden here in Atlanta, so I make my own, including towers that I call pagodas and a Torii gate formed from bamboo. Subscribed to your channel. Looking forward to exploring your philosophy as well.

[@moniquecarriere223]

i have a p.c. oriental garden in my back yard. p.c. is president's choice, but in my case it is a "poor chump " garden & I love it.

[@ShizenStyle]

Haha, I'm sure it's a Winner's Choice garden because you made it.

[@GraDays]

Is there a particular one you would suggest for a little backyard garden?

[@ShizenStyle]

I think it's more of a personal choice. But you might want to avoid the Kotoji stone lantern, an iconic symbol of Kanazawa and the Kenrokuen garden. That one usually extends a long leg into water.

[@TheBarefootedGardener]

Great video Josh, I’ve always been curious about the different shapes of lanterns & the reason behind placement. I noticed that you don’t call them pagodas. Is that a specific type of lantern?

[@ShizenStyle]

Thanks, I don't usually use the term pagoda because that refers more specifically to the tiered pillars or towers with multiple eaves. You see them often at Buddhist or Taoist temples. Sometimes you see them miniaturized in a Japanese garden scene though and you could use the term then.

[@sarasuzuki3195]

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