What is the difference between Chinese lanterns and Japanese lanterns?

The difference between Chinese lanterns and Japanese lanterns is that Chinese lanterns represent festivity while Japanese lanterns are mainly for lighting or decoration.

Large red lanterns are part of the celebratory elements of today's Chinese New Year festivals, but these large red lanterns are not the traditional Chinese style, but rather an improved version of the Japanese lanterns designed by the Japanese.

Large red lanterns are routinely hung throughout China as a symbol of festivity, both on traditional Chinese holidays and on official national holidays. During the Cultural Revolution, when materials were scarce, red lanterns were a luxury, and most organizations couldn't find craftsmen who could make them, so instead of the actual lanterns, they used the red ones on posters, each with a single word written on it, to make up a complete sentence that reads "Happy Chinese New Year".

In Japan, Chinese lanterns are called tidanori (lanterns), and they are hung out on festive days to add a touch of color to the festivities. Such red lanterns can be found everywhere, and there are also creative lanterns, also in red color, which will appear in festive places.

Japanese lanterns were first used to illuminate the road at night, but with the development of technology and the replacement of electric lamps, lanterns became a kind of decorative objects, or to send sentimental objects.

The origin of lanterns:

In the mythological story, the god bird lost its way in the folk, but was killed by the folk hunters as a prey, the emperor of the sky knows this thing, very angry, so sent the heavenly soldiers and generals in the first month of the fifteenth day of the day of the earth will be all the fowls burned to death.

The emperor's daughter, after knowing the goodness of heart, will give the people tips, the first month of the fifteenth day of hanging a big red lantern, so that the emperor thought that has been put on the fire, the folk have been punished, lanterns are thus passed down.