NAGANO -- The Nagano Tomyo Festival began Wednesday at Zenkoji temple in Nagano Prefecture.
Held to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Nagano Winter Olympics as well as the upcoming Pyeongchang Olympics, the event kicked off with a laser show featuring an image of a speed skater projected on the temple's illuminated main gate.
Wednesday marked 20 years to the day that the Nagano Games' opening ceremony was held.
"Soohorang" and "Bandabi," the mascots of the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, also appeared at the festival's opening to create an atmosphere of support for the upcoming Games in South Korea.
Lighting designer Motoko Ishii, who was in charge of the production, said, "I want to use lighting to remind the audience of the importance of peace."
Five colors of light -- red, blue, green, yellow and purple -- will illuminate the temple's gate and hall until Monday.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
An image of a speed skater emerges on the illuminated gate of Zenkoji temple in Nagano Prefecture.
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