The overview and theme of the 32nd Kobe Luminarie have been decided. The Kobe Luminarie was first held in December 1995, the year the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake struck, to honor the victims of the disaster and to carry dreams and hope for the recovery and rebirth of the city. Since then, it has been held with the support of many people as an event that passes on the lessons of the earthquake and symbolizes hope for Kobe.
The 32nd edition takes the theme "Un porto. Mille luci. Mille armonie." (港に灯る、千のしらべ), roughly "a thousand melodies lighting up the harbor," and expresses the memory of the earthquake, prayers, and hope for the future through works of light. It has been 32 years since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, and the lights in the city of Kobe carry both the memories that people who experienced the disaster have carefully passed down and the wishes for the future held by the generations born after it.
Each of the three venues has a different work.
- Meriken Park: "Eternal Sunshine" (エターナル・サンシャイン), a grand corridor of light with a giant sun shining above it
- Higashi Yuenchi Park: "The Tower of Peace" (平和の塔), which expresses gratitude to the recovered city of Kobe and a wish for peace
- Former Foreign Settlement: "Music Box" (オルゴール), which echoes the song "Shiawase Hakoberu Yoni" (しあわせ運べるように), a symbol of Kobe's recovery and hope
Visitors can enjoy a different expression of light at each venue while experiencing the history of Kobe's recovery and the prayers and hope that people have passed on. The lights are meant to pass the memory of the earthquake on to the future and to connect people's hearts across generations and borders. The 32nd Kobe Luminarie will continue to light prayers in the city of Kobe and connect them to the future, while cherishing its unchanged feelings of requiem and recovery.
Event Overview
- Purpose: To honor the victims of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake and pass on the lessons of the disaster to future generations, while promoting the further appeal of the city of Kobe and attracting visitors to the Kobe area
- Dates: Friday, January 29 to Sunday, February 7, 2027 (10 days)
- Venues: Meriken Park, Higashi Yuenchi Park, and the Former Foreign Settlement. Part of the Meriken Park venue will be a paid area.
- Lighting hours: From dusk until 9:30 PM (lighting hours are subject to change)
- Organizer: Kobe Luminarie Organizing Committee (神戸ルミナリエ組織委員会), chaired by Kobe Mayor Kizo Hisamoto (久元 喜造). Member organizations are Hyogo Prefecture, Kobe City, the Kobe Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Hyogo Tourism Bureau (ひょうご観光本部), and the Kobe Tourism Bureau (神戸観光局).
Collaborative illuminations will also be held in the Former Foreign Settlement area and Shinko-cho (新港町, known as "New Seaport") to make it easier for visitors to walk around.
For details, please visit the official website of the 32nd Kobe Luminarie.
Message From the Artist
The artist, Daniel Monteverde (ダニエル・モンテベルデ), shared the following message.
January 17, 1995. On that day 32 years ago, the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake completely changed the city of Kobe and the lives of its citizens. People who knew that time still quietly hold the memory in their hearts, and together with the generation born after the earthquake, they look up at the lights of the Kobe Luminarie with their wishes and hopes for the future.
This year, too, this light of hope rises from the ground and warmly illuminates the streets, plazas, and parks. The story of the steps and prayers of the people who overcame hardship crosses borders and reaches hearts around the world.
I have traveled to 75 countries so far, and what I learned through my work in Kobe was the "humility" of sincerely facing great memory and prayer, and the value of "supporting one another" by bringing hearts together. I will continue to cherish, as a treasure for life, the joy of returning to Kobe every year and continuing to light this light of prayer together with all of you. I am deeply grateful from the bottom of my heart.
Works at Each Venue
Meriken Park: "Eternal Sunshine" (エターナル・サンシャイン)
Above the first arch is a magic clock that counts the "stars in the night sky." Above the grand wall and tunnel of light, which warmly celebrate the city of Kobe and its citizens, a dazzling "giant sun" is raised. The beautiful symmetrical structure fascinates viewers and lifts their spirits. Beyond the corridor of light, two graceful ballerinas dance elegantly to the sound of the "Bell of Hope."
- Frontone (フロントーネ): The entrance work for the main work at Meriken Park, a large-scale work of light about 17 m high and 53 m wide. Its widely spreading light decorations welcome visitors and invite them into the colorful world of the Kobe Luminarie.
- Galleria (ガレリア): A corridor of light about 10 m high and extending about 81 m. Visitors can enjoy walking through the work as they pass under layer upon layer of light arches. Please take your time in the space of light that continues from the Frontone.
Higashi Yuenchi Park: "The Tower of Peace"
This work pays homage to, and expresses respect for, Kobe's Western atmosphere and the foreign settlement that was once praised as "the most beautifully developed settlement in the East." The tower rising straight up to the sky represents four people standing in a circle, proudly raising their hands toward the heavens. It carries gratitude toward the city of Kobe, which has achieved a remarkable recovery and has begun to shine richly again toward the future.
- Scultura (スクルトゥーラ): A three-dimensional "sacred tower of light" installed on the lawn plaza, about 17 m wide, 23 m high, and 14 m deep.
Former Foreign Settlement: "Music Box"
This is a small music box, made up of the warmth of trees and delicate walls of light, that feels like wandering into a fairy tale. Surrounded by countless grains of light, visitors can stand inside and listen quietly. The beautiful, gentle melody of "Shiawase Hakoberu Yoni" (しあわせ運べるように), a hymn of recovery and hope born in Kobe, echoes calmly in the heart.
- Doppio Gazebo (ドッピオガゼボ): A box-shaped work about 8 m high and 16 m wide, displayed so that it surrounds three sides and the ceiling of the plaza in front of the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Headquarters Building (三井住友銀行本部ビル).
