Wandering around a candle-lit ruin in a memorial to the dead was the perfect way to spend the evening before Halloween, though it’s not as spooky or somber as it sounds.

The second annual Katashima Taketoro Matsuri (Katashima Bamboo Lantern Festival) was held on Oct. 29-30 at the Katashima Torpedo Testing Facility ruins in Kawatana. The festival is held in commemoration of Japan’s seaborne kamikaze boats, Shinyo, who died in World War II. The Shinyo pilots were trained at a nearby naval school in Kawatana that also trained regular torpedo boat crews and Fukuryu suicide frogmen.

I visited the festival after sundown, when the path to the ruins through the streets of Kawatana and the surrounding forest is illuminated solely by candle light and lanterns lending the walk a rather fantastic quality. The ruins themselves are surrounded by multi-colored bamboo lanterns (taketoro) and inside of the still standing building candles cover the ground. Inside we each placed tea candle around a tree growing up through the center of the building.

It was interesting that they chose to remember the Shinyo in this way. If no one had explained to me what the promotional posters had said about this being a remembrance for the kamikazes, I’d have just thought it was one more of Japan’s many colorful festivals. The ambience was tranquil and reflective, with no somber or militant overtones and let visitors interpret the candle displays any way they chose. Combined with the brisk air and good number of people enjoying themselves, it had the atmosphere of a good fall festival like you’d see in the U.S.

As well as the garden of multicolored lights, many artistic touches throughout showcased the creativity of local artists such as a tree of lanterns, bamboo hearts and candlelit poles with decorative cut outs arranged around the ruins and on the path. Seeing the many colors stand out against the darkness and arranged with artistry, it felt like a celebration of life rather than remembering loss.

The location combined with the colorful and creative atmosphere of the festival made it a joy to visit and I look forward to seeing what they put on next year.

Though Shinyo did not train at Katashima, there is a memorial to them on the site of their former training base a short distance down the road.

Cost of admission was 100 yen.