During the era of Japanese rule, the colonial rulers pursued a policy of Japanizing Taiwan. They destroyed Chinese Taoist temples and built Shinto shrines, and they strictly prohibited the use of traditional Chinese ceremonial objects, such as incense burner tripods and orange-shaped lanterns used in traditional worship. Families put these under tables or in storage, where they rusted or tarnished.
直到日據時代末期，日本人在台推行「皇民化運動」，毀廟造神社，嚴格規定傳統祭祀用具如天公爐、柑燈，一律不准擺飾，家家戶戶就把這些用具收入桌底或倉庫，任其生鏽變黑。