Tonight, August 16th, the annual Gozan no Okuribi (roughly "The Five Mountainous Send-Off Fires") festival was celebrated in Kyoto, Japan. Five giant bonfires were lit on five mountainsides surrounding the city, signifying the moment when the spirits of deceased family members, who are said to visit this world around this time, are believed to be return back to the spirit world — thus the name Okuribi (送り火, roughly "send-off fire").
Every year on each of the five mountainsides, stone hearths are purposefully built for the festival's bonfires. Three of the hearths are shaped in the form of giant Japanese text characters that signify greatness, and the Buddhist dharma, whilst another two are built in the shape of a boat, and a shrine gate. Additionally, lit lanterns are floated into a pond in Arashiyama, just before the ritual mountainside fires are lit.
Specific families have the hereditary duty of organizing all the logistics of the bonfires, and they spend many hours annually providing volunteer labour to maintain this tradition.
