Torii Gata during Gozan no Okuribi in Kyoto by Andy Heather on Flickr.
Graveyard over Kyoto by Andy Heather on Flickr.
“Okuribi, sending day, is the last day of the Obon season during which dead ancestors are said to visit families on Earth. It is one of only two times a year they will visit. Giant fires are lit on the mountains around Kyoto to guide the dead out of the bowl shaped city and back to the afterlife.
In some parts of Japan ghostly dances take place to honour ancestors and wish them a fond farewell on their way back to afterlife. During these dances some men would traditionally dress as women to discourage earthly attachments among the dead and ensure their return to the spirit realm.”
Via Flickr:
Okuribi, sending day, is the last day of the Obon season during which dead ancestors are said to visit families on Earth. It is one of only two times a year they will visit. Giant fires are lit on the mountains around Kyoto to guide the dead out of the bowl shaped city and back to the afterlife.
In some parts of Japan ghostly dances take place to honour ancestors and wish them a fond farewell on their way back to afterlife. During these dances some men would traditionally dress as women to discourage earthly attachments among the dead and ensure their return to the spirit realm.
