Date:Second Sunday of January
Place:Mt. Wakakusayama, Nara
City:Kasugano-cho, Nara City |
This New Year event begins at the sound of a trumpet blowing, and then the 33 hectares of moorland at Wakakusayama burst into flames. The sacred fire at Kasuga Taisha Shrine is carried down to a small shrine at the foot of the hill by a procession of Buddhist monks. The hill is ignited with the sacred fire and burns for some 30 minutes with fireworks blazing in the skies above the hill. This fire spectacle can be seen from the surrounding towns, but Nara city offers the most beautiful views as the city faces the hill.
The true origins of this event have been somewhat lost over the passing of time. Some explanations for this ceremony are that it is (a) An attempt to solve a 1,000 year old boundary dispute between two of Nara’s temples, Kofuku-ji Temple and Todai-ji Temple, (b) An effective way of keeping down the goblin population or (c) The last remnant of an ancient Japanese hunting technique.
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