Edo lighting: andon lamps and lanterns

The idea

An 行灯 was often an indoor lamp with an oil flame and a paper screen that sheltered it from wind. A 提灯 was a portable lantern; other kinds of light existed too. The examples use modern polite Japanese.

Examples

• 行灯あんどんは部屋へやの中なかで使つかわれました。Andon lamps were used indoors.
• 行灯あんどんの中なかで油あぶらを燃もやしました。Oil was burned inside an andon lamp.
• 提灯ちょうちんを持もって夜道よみちを歩あるきました。I carried a lantern while walking at night.
• 火ひをつけて、部屋へやを明あかるくしました。I lit a flame and brightened the room.
• 紙かみが火ひを風かぜから守まもりました。The paper protected the flame from the wind.
• 博物館はくぶつかんで古ふるい灯あかりの道具どうぐを見みました。I saw old lighting tools in a museum.

Watch out

Not every lamp had the same design or fuel. These historical examples describe open flames, not instructions for making a lamp.

Try it yourself

1. Choose the Japanese term for “andon oil lamp”: （行灯あんどん／提灯ちょうちん）

   Show answer or example answer

   行灯

   行灯 means “andon oil lamp”; 提灯 means “portable lantern”.

2. Choose the Japanese term for “portable lantern”: （提灯ちょうちん／油あぶら）

   Show answer or example answer

   提灯

   提灯 means “portable lantern”; 油 means “oil”.

3. Choose the Japanese term for “oil”: （油あぶら／行灯あんどん）

   Show answer or example answer

   油

   油 means “oil”; 行灯 means “andon oil lamp”.

Use it today

Compare an indoor lamp and a portable lantern in two Japanese sentences.