V#NewYear is #Japan's biggest holiday. #Buddhist and #Shinto traditions focus on removing negative influences of the old year and greeting the new year with calm presence of mind.
Many gather at Buddhist temples late on #NewYearsEve to hear the bell rung 108 times, to lift each of 108 afflictions that stop the soul from achieving #nirvana.
#ChionIn in #Kyoto, head temple of the most widely practised branch of #Buddhism in Japan, streams its ceremony:
