Gozan no Okuribi

Overview

Gozan no Okuribi is one of Kyoto's most iconic traditional events, in which fires are lit on the night of August 16 each year on five mountains surrounding the city to send the spirits of the dead, welcomed home during the Bon festival, back to the other world. Beginning with the Daimonji on Nyoigatake in the eastern hills, giant characters and shapes emerge on the mountainsides in five-minute intervals: Matsugasaki Myoho, Funagata Manto-doro, Hidari Daimonji, and finally the Torii-gata torch fire in Saga Toriimoto. Counted among Kyoto's four great annual events alongside the Aoi, Gion, and Jidai festivals, it is deeply cherished by the citizens as the closing rite of the Bon season.

Also called the Daimonji Okuribi, it is widely known nationwide by the nickname daimonji-yaki, or Daimonji burning, though in Kyoto it is usually called simply daimonji, and many locals dislike adding the word yaki, burning. This is because Kyoto's okuribi is not an event of burning a mountain but a religious rite of lighting fires to send off the spirits. For a while after ignition, thick smoke covers the city, and when it clears, the fantastical fiery characters gleaming against the night sky across the basin become a symbol of Kyoto in summer.

History and Origins

The origins of igniting characters traced on the mountains are told in several ways, from the Heian period to the Edo period, but no official record survives. Historical materials that specifically identify the places and the act appear only from the early modern era. The Yoshu-fushi describes it as an event of the Urabon-e and segaki rites, and the Karaku-saiken-zu introduces it as the soul festival of the Urabon-e, showing that by the early to middle Edo period it already had the character of a Bon spirit-sending, with fires lit not only for the Daimonji, Myoho, and Funagata but also on various mountains and open fields.

As a rite, it is thought to have developed from the custom of the spirit-sending fire that sees off ancestral spirits returning during Bon, and from the manto-e memorial lantern customs that flourished during the Warring States period, evolving into the giant send-off fires lit on the mountainsides. According to popular tradition, there was a custom of throwing torch fire into the sky to see off spirits passing through the void, and Kyoto's five-mountain okuribi is said to be this fire, lit on the mountains and staying there. There is also a theory that the okuribi culture arose because Kyoto had many bare mountains due to excessive forest use, so the event grew from a union of terrain and faith.

Each mountain carries its own tradition. As for who wrote the character dai for the Daimonji, sources differ, naming the head priest of Shorenin, Konoe Nobutada (Sanmyakuin), Kobo Daishi, or the Shokoku-ji monk Yokawa Keizo, with several theories mixed among books published around the same time. For Matsugasaki Myoho, the temple record of Yusen-ji relates that when the villagers of Matsugasaki converted to the Nichiren sect in 1307, the priest Nichizo wrote the character myo on the western mountain, and in the Edo period the priest Nichiryo wrote the character ho on the eastern mountain. The Funagata is said to derive from the legend that in 847, when Ennin, the founder of Saiho-ji, met a storm on his return voyage from Tang China and chanted the name of Amida Buddha, he arrived safely.

The timing of ignition has also been arranged over the ages. Until 1962 the lighting times varied, but in 1963, at the request of the tourism industry, the Daimonji was fixed at exactly 8 p.m. with the others following in order. In 2014, the first change in 51 years moved the ignition of Matsugasaki Myoho and Funagata Manto-doro five minutes earlier, giving the present form in which the five mountains are lit at five-minute intervals. During the war years from 1943 to 1945 the okuribi was suspended due to blackout regulations, and in some years citizens and schoolchildren instead climbed the mountain to form the character dai with their white shirts, in what was called the white Daimonji.

Highlights

The Daimonji on Nyoigatake
Lit first, the Daimonji is regarded as the grandest of the five and forms the character dai on the western slope of Nyoigatake, or Mount Daimonji. With 75 fire beds, it boasts a colossal scale, with the first stroke 80 meters, the second 160 meters, and the third 120 meters. Just before ignition, fire taken from the lamp of the Kobo Daishi hall is transferred to the crossing point of the strokes called kanao, and the sight of all the fires lit at once at the head priest's cry of ignite is truly spectacular.

The two mountains and two characters of Matsugasaki Myoho
Lit second, the Myoho draws myo on the western mountain (103 fire beds) and ho on the eastern mountain (63 fire beds), forming two mountains and two characters that are treated as a single unit. For the ho, each household has an assigned fire bed, while for the myo the responsibility rotates by neighborhood, reflecting a management still tied to the life of the community.

The sail-boat of Funagata Manto-doro
Lit third, the Funagata draws a boat shape about 130 meters tall and 200 meters wide (79 fire beds) on Mount Funa in Nishigamo, Kita Ward. Derived from Ennin's shipwreck legend, this shape evokes a boat carrying the spirits to the other world and conveys the meaning of the Bon send-off in visual form.

Hidari Daimonji lit in stroke order
Lit fourth, the Hidari Daimonji draws the character dai (53 fire beds) on Mount Daimonji in Okitayama, Kita Ward. Whereas the eastern Daimonji is lit all at once, the Hidari Daimonji is lit following the stroke order. It was once a rugged rocky peak with no fixed beds, so its shape changed every year, but today fire beds built of gravel and concrete are used.

The running fire of the Torii-gata torches
Lit last, the Torii-gata draws a torii shape (108 fire beds) on Mount Mandara in Saga Toriimoto, Ukyo Ward. Because it uses the resin-rich part of pine called jin, its flames take on a color closer to orange, and rather than stacking firewood in a grid, torches are set upright on the ignition stands; bearers carry torches from a main fire bed to each bed, so it is called the running fire. Unlike the other four, this mountain's preservation society is run not by hereditary temple parishioners but by volunteers.

Offering of goma-gi votive wood
It is said that writing one's name or wish on the goma-gi votive wood burned in the okuribi brings protection from misfortune, and the wood is sold at each mountain except the Myoho. The way one's prayer-inscribed wood is sent off together with the spirits makes the okuribi a familiar event for spectators as well.

Event Information and Access

• Date: Every August 16 (held rain or shine; may be postponed in severe weather)
• Ignition times: Daimonji 8:00 p.m. / Matsugasaki Myoho 8:05 p.m. / Funagata Manto-doro 8:10 p.m. / Hidari Daimonji 8:15 p.m. / Torii-gata torches 8:20 p.m. (each burns about 30 minutes)
• Location: Five mountains surrounding Kyoto City (spread across Sakyo, Kita, and Ukyo wards)
• Viewing: Free viewing from many points in the city; the Kamo River embankment and elevated spots are popular
• Note: On the day of ignition, climbers of Nyoigatake must descend by 1 p.m., after which same-day climbing is prohibited at all trailheads
• Inquiries: Daimonji Gozan Preservation Society Federation, Kyoto City Tourism Association

Around the Area

To view the Daimonji, it is recommended to combine it with a walk to Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion, at the foot of the eastern hills, and along the Philosopher's Path. The area north of Ginkaku-ji is also the main trailhead up Mount Daimonji, which on days other than the okuribi is a popular mountain offering a sweeping view of the Kyoto basin.

When visiting the northern parts of the city where Matsugasaki Myoho and Funagata are located, combining the trip with the World Heritage shrines of Kamigamo and Shimogamo lets you feel the layered faith of Kyoto. The banks of the Kamo River are also well known as viewing spots, and waiting for the fiery characters while enjoying the evening cool is a way of spending time unique to Kyoto in summer.

Saga Toriimoto, where the Torii-gata is located, is a preservation district of important traditional buildings that survives as the gate town of Atago Shrine, with townhouses roofed in thatch and tile, and it is also a base for sightseeing in Arashiyama and Sagano, famous for the Togetsukyo bridge and the bamboo grove. Strolling through the elegant old streets before or after the okuribi lets you savor the afterglow of the event all the more deeply.

Related Information

• Month: August (the send-off fire of Bon, summer)
• Region: Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture (Sakyo, Kita, and Ukyo wards)
• The five mountains: Daimonji (Nyoigatake), Matsugasaki Myoho, Funagata Manto-doro (Mount Funa), Hidari Daimonji, Torii-gata torches (Mount Mandara)
• Origin: A Bon event that developed from the spirit-sending of the Urabon-e and the manto-e lantern customs (recorded in early modern sources)
• Standing: One of Kyoto's four great annual events, alongside the Aoi, Gion, and Jidai festivals
• Alternative name: Daimonji Okuribi (the nationwide nickname is daimonji-yaki, but in Kyoto it is usually called daimonji)

← Explore More Festivals