On the night of August 16, 2026, the "Tamba Daimonji Okuribi" (a Bon festival event to honor ancestors) was held on Mt. Himegami in Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto Prefecture. The flaming character "Dai" (meaning "large" or "great") stood out vividly against the mountainside in the dark, prompting citizens to reflect on their departed loved ones.
The event began in 1952, shortly after the war, when local residents at the foot of the mountain sought to mourn the war dead. Mt. Himegami, with an elevation of 406 meters, was chosen as the site to ensure the display would be clearly visible from Otonase Bridge. Today, it is co-hosted by the "Tamba Daimonji Preservation Society"—a group formed by local residents—and the Fukuchiyama City Buddhist Association.
At 8:00 p.m., thirty members of the preservation society, joined by six volunteers from the public, lit fires one after another at fifty-four designated fire pits. *Sotoba* (memorial wooden tablets) inscribed with citizens' wishes and the posthumous Buddhist names of the deceased were also burned in the fires.
Prior to the lighting ceremony, a memorial service for the event was held at the Fukuchiyama City Kosei Kaikan Hall. Attendees prayed for the repose of the souls of the deceased, including the three victims of the stall explosion accident that occurred during a fireworks display in 2013.
