Lanterns of Belonging

On a narrow Kyoto street, the lanterns light the path, one by one, until the road feels like a hallway in a house I somehow remember. Their craft is hereditary (bamboo ribs, washi skins, disciplined brushwork), and their use is ceremonial—welcoming spirits, orienting the living. As I walked, I was carried back to childhood lantern festivals in Taiwan. I felt folded into the place—welcomed, and unmistakably part of it—not as a visitor, but as someone returning.