A Chessboard of Light at Marishiten Tokudaiji Temple, Ueno, Tokyo ※ 東京・上野｜摩利支天徳大寺に広がる光の碁盤

Rows of glowing paper lanterns form a perfect grid along the outer wall of Marishiten Tokudaiji Temple, like a luminous chessboard quietly waiting for the next move. Unfortunately, I never learned how to play chess, so the metaphor may not quite work.

While editing the RAW photo later, the lanterns reminded me instead of the children’s toy “Lite-Brite,” which was a colorful peg board that lit up when you pushed plastic pins through black paper. To my surprise, the toy is apparently still around today, now reimagined with LEDs and touchscreens.

I don’t think I ever had one myself, but I remember visiting friends who did. Seeing the lanterns lined up like this brought back that same quiet fascination with patterns of light against a dark background.

境内の壁一面に並ぶ提灯が、まるで光の碁盤のように整然と広がる。一つひとつの灯りが静かに揺れながら、夕暮れの境内に穏やかな時間をもたらしている。

Location: Marishiten Tokudai-ji, Taito Ward, Tokyo

Timestamp: 2026/01/02・16:47

Fujifilm X100V with 5% diffusion filter

23 mm ISO 3200 for 1/125 sec. at ƒ/2

Provia/Standard film simulation