Yesterday was Obon, or rather, Kyoto’s Daimonji fires. On five mountains surrounding Kyoto, huge bonfires are lit to send the ancestors back home to the netherworld after their visit to Earth.
For the first time since I moved here, I went to see the Daimonji. Not to the very best spot – that would be too crowded – but just down to the river, where the large “dai” is clearly visible, if a bit from the side. (Old photo below.) As a bonus, I also got to see the two neighboring fires, the “myo-ho”, which are always a challenge to see fully because they are pretty low on their mountains.
Even though I’m not religious, watching the fires light up is always moving, and I can’t really say why. And I’m not the only one who feels this way. This time, I’ve seen people folding their hands in prayer while looking at the fires, and even small kids are less boisterous than could be expected otherwise. It’s a good feeling, almost like we’re all a big family, united before something bigger, whether we call it god or nature or just death, maybe.
It was drizzling when I was out, and today we had a couple more showers, so I guess summer is over or at least will be taking a back seat for a while. Pumpkin has already started to climb onto my office chair and tuck in behind my back sometimes, but he seems to get too hot rather quickly, so he goes back to sleep underneath my desk.
Time flies – 烏兎匆々(crows and rabbits hurry past).