Fire was banned by law in 1738, but the ‘spontaneous’ fires went on all the same.
On the fourth Saturday of every January the whole of Wakakusayama hill is set on fire, and the prefecture's official source documents only one origin for it: a ghost came out of the kofun (an ancient burial mound) on the summit and terrified people, and burning the grass stopped it. In 1738 the authorities banned setting fires by law, but the ‘spontaneous’ fires went on all the same.
Wakakusayama is the hill behind Tōdai-ji, in the eastern part of Nara Park. The date of the fire ceremony (yamayaki) has changed several times over its history: 11 February in the Meiji era, 15 January from 1971, the fourth Saturday of January from 2009.
🚉 Daibutsuden Kasugataisha-mae · 25 min walk
Holidays in Japan? Plan them with us.Over 2,000 real places, a day-by-day itinerary.FreeOpen the map →Sources: pref.nara.lg.jp
Nearby
The deer of Nara900 mphoto by Andrew Currie · CC BY-SA 3.0
Tōdai-ji Nigatsu-dō (Omizutori)900 mphoto by x768 · CC BY-SA 2.0
Tōdai-ji1.4 kmphoto by yuichiro anazawa · CC BY 3.0
Kasuga Taisha Shrine1.4 kmphoto by Guilhem Vellut · CC BY 2.0