Kyoto's traditional New Year's Eve event, ''Okera Pilgrimage,'' was held on the night of December 31, 2023 at Yasaka Shrine in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City. Even in the occasional rain, worshipers prayed for good health in the new year by catching ''Okerabi'' on a rope.
Okerabi is a bonfire that burns Okera, a medicinal herb that is said to ward off evil spirits, and many worshipers transfer it to a rope and take it home. It is said that if you use this as a starting fire to cook zoni, happiness will come to you, and the remaining rope is sometimes enshrined as a talisman to prevent fires.
On this day, just after 7 p.m., a Shinto priest lit three lanterns, the okera burned and gave off a scent, and the ''okera tree'' on which people had written their wishes also crackled. Worshipers formed long lines even before the fire was lit, and foreign tourists were also noticeable. After transferring the fire to a rope woven from bamboo fibers, they made their way home, spinning the fire around and around so as not to extinguish it.
