Imagine a glowing river lit up with the natural illumination of fireflies. The small insects flitting across the water reflecting upon it like a naturally created light show. This past weekend the Sumida River that runs through Tokyo was lit up by 100,000 LED lights for the Tokyo Hotaru Festival to commemorate the now scarce insects that used to bring the river to life. The balls of light which have been dubbed “Prayer Stars”. were provided by Panasonic. They are 100% solar powered and were designed to activate when they come in contact with the water.
The photos from the installation, which was part of a larger display called Hikari no Symphony or Symphony of Light, the river peppered with the luminous blue dots making it come alive with a kinetic blue energy that surges from the water. Against the backdrop of the city it begins to look more like an optical wire conducting energy as part of some supercomputer more than it does a body of water.
Check out the video below to see the installation in action: