On August 16th the spirits of the dead, having arrived in the city on the 7th for a brief holiday in our world, return to the Netherworld for another year.
Kyōto says goodbye in spectacular fashion, lighting great bonfires to guide the dead home.
The 5 'Gozan-no-Okuribi':
🔥Daimonji (大 = 'Great' from 8pm)
🔥Myo-Ho (妙法 = 'Wondrous Dharma' from 8:10)
🔥Funagata (舟形 = the shape of a boat, from 8:15)
🔥Hidari Daimonji (大 = 'Great' from 8:15)
🔥Toriigata (鳥居形 = the shape of a shrine gate, from 8:20).