Daimonji Gozan Okuribi (Daimonji Bonfire)

Daimonji Gozan Okuribi (Daimonji Bonfire)

Kyoto is a city that boats of a rich cultural and historical heritage. The cultural legacy of the city is reflected in the numerous events and festivals that take place throughout the year in the city. One of the major festivals of Kyoto is Daimonji Gozan Okuribi (Daimonji Bonfire) and the festival features stunning okuribi bonfires on the five Kyoto mountains, which is symptomatic of the end of summer. This event is held on the evening of 16th August and during the event gigantic Chinese characters and other themes are portrayed by fires lit on the slopes of the mountains nearby the Kyoto Basin. The Daimonji Bonfire is renowned for invoking the image of a typical Kyoto summer.

There are several versions of the genesis of the event but then it is generally believed that event descended from the fire at the gate that was lit to see off the souls of ancestors. Fire is set to the character of “dai”, which means large, on Mt. Daimonji, and “Myo-ho” on Matsugasaki Nishiyama and Higashiyama mountains. Besides these, characters like “dai” and motifs like funa-gata are set ablaze on the mountains like Mt. Hidari-Daimonjiyama and Mt. Funayama respectively. The torii-gata motif that resembles the gate constructed at the entrance of a shrine is also set alight on Mt. Manadarayama, which is situated in Saga. Collectively these fires are known as “Daimonji Gozan Okuribi”. The first upper horizontal stroke of the character "dai" measures 80 meters, the second stroke is 160 meters long, and the third one is 120 meters long. For the bonfire seventy five burning areas are prepared and the split firewood of pine tree and pine needles are set alight at 8 pm on the evening of the day of the festival. The bonfire continues to burn for about 30 minutes in each of the mountains.

Presently the event is organized by the members and volunteers of the Daimonji Preservation Committee. During the month of February the preparations for the event begins and pine trees, split logs, and prayer sticks of wood, which are known as “gomagi” are gathered for the event.

The local residents of Kyoto believe that if one drinks sake or water on the night of Daimonji Gozan Okuribi and the burning Daimonji characters are reflected in the cup of the drink, then that person becomes immune to illness.

This event is extremely popular amongst the tourists and many tourists from all over Japan and other parts of the world visit the city during this festival. For more information on the event, you can contact the Kyoto City Tourist Association.

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