👋FAREWELL TO THE DEAD🔥
Obon draws to a close in Kyōto on August 16th. As darkness falls families say goodbye to the ancestral spirits for another year.
From 8pm fiery shapes appear on five of Kyōto's mountains...beacons guiding the dead back to the Netherworld.
🔥'大'🔥
Daimonji (大文字) is first of the Gozan-no-Okuribi (五山送り火 the 'Send off Fires') to be lit, at 8pm on August 16th. It is by far the most famous, and oldest, of the current 5 Okuribi (送り火).
Daimonji sits on the upper slopes of Daimonji-yama (大文字山 aka Mt. Nyoigadake 如意ヶ嶽).
Daimonji's (大文字) horizontal stroke is 80m long, the left sweep 160m and the right sweep 120m.
The character '大' means large or great, though it is unclear what it symbolises.
A little before 8pm the first fire (of 75 in total) is lit at the Kanao (金尾), Daimonji's heart.
#Daimonji #大文字
From noon on August 15th until noon the next day people gather at Jōdo-in (浄土院), beside Ginkaku-ji (銀閣寺), to write down their prayers on 'gomaki' (護摩木 wooden prayer tablets).
These are then bundled together and carried up the mountain to be used within the bonfires.
No-one is quite sure when or why Daimonji was created.
It is possible that Kūkai inspired a later, permanent fixture, by ending a plague 808 with bonfires arranged in the shape '大'.
He built these on the charred ruins of Jōdō-ji, where Amida had been seen rising from the flames.
It's unclear what the character '大' represents.
As Kūkai is often credited as creator, many have suggested it signifies the Shingon doctrine of 'Sokushin Jōbutsu' (即身成仏 lit. 'Becoming a Buddha in This Life').
Alternatively it might symbolize the 5 elements, or a human figure.
🔥'妙法'🔥
The second of the Gozan-no-Okuribi (五山送り火) to be lit is Myō-hō (妙法), at 8:10pm on August 16th.
These are actually two separate characters. 'Myō' (妙) and 'Hō' (法) are lit on two separate, neighbouring mountain slopes, but are read as one.
Together the characters 'Myō' (妙) and 'Hō' (法) mean 'Wondrous Dharma', taken from 'Myōhō Renge Kyō' (妙法蓮華経 the 'Lotus Sutra'), supreme scripture of the Nichiren Sect (法華系仏教).
The creation of these Okuribi (送り火) are deeply connected to this Buddhist sect.
According to Yūsen-ji (涌泉寺) lore, in 1307 the monk Nichizō (日像 d.1342) converted the village of Matsugasaki to the Nichiren sect.
In celebration he carved the letter 'Myō' (妙) on Nishiyama (西山 - West Matsugasaki) with his walking stick, close to the village cemetery.
After Nichizō's death the villagers maintained the tradition, continuing to illuminate the character he had drawn on the mountain slope.
As the site was close to the cemetery, it is thought the custom merged with the celebrations at Obon and became a regular local event.
But what of the character 'Hō' (法)?
Well it is suggested that sometime in the 18thC a monk by the name of Nichiryō (日良), from nearby Daimyō-ji Temple (大妙寺), mimicked Nichizō by carving the character '法' on Higashiyama (東山 - East Matsugasaki). Thus creating Myōhō (妙法).
🔥舟形🔥
Funagata (舟形) is the 3rd of the Gozan-no-Okuribi. The ringing of the temple bell at Saihō-ji (西方寺) signals the bonfire to be lit at 8:15pm.
As the name suggests, the bonfires form the shape of a huge boat on the side of Mt Myōken (妙見山 aka Nishigamoyama 西賀茂山).
While Funagata's (舟形) origins are unclear, the boat design was possibly created to mimic the 'Gusei-no-fune' (弘誓の船 lit. 'Boat of Buddha's Great Vow'). These small straw boats were traditionally woven for new spirits to leave on at the time of the equinox services (涅槃の彼岸 'Higan-e').
Legend has it that Funagata was created by Ennin (圓仁 793- 864), 3rd Abbot of Enryaku-ji (延暦寺) and founder of Saihō-ji (西方寺), grateful to survive a storm on his return from China in 847.
Saihō-ji sits at the foot of the mountain and is and deeply connected to the Okuribi.
Crediting Amida Nyorai (阿弥陀仏) with his protection during the storm, in thanks Ennin created a ship out of lanterns on the mountain above Saihō-ji (西方寺) to carry and guide the souls of the dead safely into Amida's care (in the Western Paradise 極楽浄土 'Gokuraku Jōdo').
🔥左大文字🔥
Hidari Daimonji is the 4th of the Gozan-no-Okuribi (五山送り火). It is lit at 8:15pm, the same time as the Funagata.
The Okuribi is named 'Left Daimonji' (左大文字) because it stands on the left side (west) of the imperial palace when viewed from above.
Because of its shorter, heavier strokes, Hidari Daimonji (左大文字) is also known as 'Dansei-gata' (男性型), which means 'manly style'.
This perfectly complements Daimonji's (大文字) more slender and elegant strokes. Daimonji is known as 'Josei-gata' (女性型), 'feminine style'.
Hidari Daimonji (左大文字) sits on the upper slopes of Kinugasa Okita-yama (衣笠大北山 overlooking Kinkaku-ji).
Its horizontal stroke is 48m long, the left sweep 68m and the right sweep 59m. Because it is almost half the size of Daimonji, it is often known as 'Little Daimonji'.
Deeply connected to the tiny temple of Hō'on-ji (法音寺), it is unclear how old the Okuribi is.
Torch processions in Ōkitayama Village (大北山村) are mentioned as early as 1658 and 1665, so it seems likely that this Obon tradition evolved soon after into a mountain spectacle.
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