The Gozan no Okuribi, a traditional Kyoto event to send off the spirits of ancestors during Obon, was held in Kyoto City on the night of August 16, 2024. Citizens mourned the deceased in front of the letters and shapes that appeared in the night sky of the ancient capital.
At 8 p.m., the Daimonji on Nyoigatake (Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City) was lit, and every five minutes, Myoho (Matsugasaki Nishiyama and Higashiyama in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City), Funagata (Funayama in Kita Ward, Kyoto City), and Hidari Daimonji (Okitayama in Kita Ward, Kyoto City) were lit in that order.
At the torii-gata Mandalayama (Ukyo Ward, Kyoto City), which was the final event, at 8:20 p.m., a signal drum sounded and preservation society members ran to their assigned fireplaces with lit torches in hand. A unique ignition scene was seen in which the torches were thrust one after another into an iron plate about one meter high. Prior to the ignition, a moment of silence was observed on each mountain for the victims of the Noto Peninsula earthquake in January.
The maximum temperature in Kyoto City on this day was 32.9 degrees, the lowest since August began, and the heat subsided. According to the Kyoto Prefectural Police, the turnout for the day was about 47,000 people, about 21,400 more than last year.
