LED Illuminations in Shinmachi Riverside Park
One of the world’s leading producers of LED lights, Tokushima Prefecture is home to more than 100 companies involved in their manufacture. Drawing on this local expertise, the city of Tokushima held the LED Art Festival several times throughout the 2010s to showcase the technology in eye-catching outdoor displays. Permanent lighting installations at bridges on the Shinmachi River, which flows through the city’s center, are a legacy of those events. Illuminated daily from sunset to midnight, the colorful displays can be enjoyed while strolling through Shinmachi Riverside Park.
Fureai Bridge
The Fureai Bridge features “Raccoon on Rainbow,” one of two prize-winning designs from the 2010 Tokushima LED Art Festival. Created by Tokushima native Taho Ritsuko, it takes the seven colors of the rainbow as its canvas. Taho was inspired by two local folk stories about tanuki raccoon dogs, animals that are believed to be signs of good luck. In her design, scenes from the two tales play out on the west face of the bridge, uniting in the middle with the central raccoon dog character. On the bridge’s east side, a priestess performs music and dances as she blesses the raccoon dog.
The design also incorporates a number of different lighting patterns with cultural and seasonal motifs. These include well-known symbols of Tokushima, such as the Awa Odori (Awa dance), Mt. Bizan, and the traditional craft of indigo dyeing.