NEWS

Repurposed Japanese Temple Candles Provide Light for Underprivileged Children

By Anne Wisman | | Buddhistdoor Global

Hundreds of Buddhist temples in Japan are donating used ceremonial candles to provide much needed sources of light for underprivileged children across the world. In June alone some 7,800 partially used candles still with hours of use in them were packed into cardboard boxes and loaded on board a ship in Yokohama port to begin a three-month journey over sea and land to children in need in Afghanistan. The initiative to collect and ship these used candles came from Kobori Inc, a Kyoto-based manufacturer and supplier of altar accessories and ceremonial candles. Ceremonial candles, or wa-rousoku, are used in Japan during Buddhist ceremonies such as funerals and memorial services. They are larger—between 14 and 26 centimeters in length—than the European dinner candles and have a thicker wick, meaning that they burn hotter and generate a larger flame, thus providing more light, and are less likely to flicker or be blown out by a draft. When the candles are used in Buddhist ceremonies they are lit for an hour at most, while the candles can burn for 5–6 hours, leaving 80–90 percent of the candle unused. And since new candles are used for every ceremony, temples are left with a large quantity of partly used but otherwise still very useful candles.