Wa-Akari - Lights(Tomyo) of the medieval have been reborn.

The beauty of the fire grabs the attention of our minds. As a child born and raised in a temple, the flickering candlelight in the temple was the first toy I took interest in. Nowadays, candles at the temple have changed. the old-style Japanese candles have been replaced by western style candles. The soft and beautiful oil lights have been replaced by light bulbs, just for effectiveness and safety.

Regardless of all the changes, Mr. Natsume from the Ohta Oil Mill Co, Ltd still tries to spread the use of these ancient lights, and continues to respect them. The boss said to him when he entered the company,

"You take care of all the 'non-edible oils.'"

Ever since then, he began working on this project.

Ohta Oil Mill Co, Ltd. had always paid attention to the Tomyo. In 1950, The company was asked by the Imperial Household Agency if they had any Tomyo oil, and ever since then, they have been handling it. This request was an honor for the Ohta Oil Mill Co, Ltd because the oils were going to be used for a royal family.

Originally used for cooking, the oils used for Wa-akari is very high in quality, made completely with vegetable oil. It hardly releases any soot when burned, therefore it has very little negative impact on the human body and ancient buildings. For this reason, it has been used in major ancient temples and shrines.

There is a story about Wa-Akari.

At Todaiji-temple, one of the oldest temples in in Japan, a ceremony called shuni-e ceremony, also known as Omizutori, is held once a year. During this ceremony, eleven priests, called rengyoshu, pray for nation's prosperity and world peace by strengthening their piety through religious exercise under the light of Tomyo.

During the ceremony, priests of Todaiji-temple said,

"It was very tough praying underTomyo light because of their soot. Even weeks after finishing the ceremony, we still have soot in our nose and throught"

Mr. Natsume explaned them,

"highly purified oil has less soot when it burns. Please try our oil"

Priests tried using Wa-Akari and found Mr. Natsume told the truth. Now Todaiji-temple is using oil from Ohta Oil Mill Co, Ltd.

Mr. Natsume said,

"Temples are places holding and passing the history of Japan. Now our oil is actually being used here. Using our oil at home helps to spread the history extensively."

Writer / KNOM