When one thinks of the Daimonji Okuribi (bonfire event), the first thing that comes to mind is the Daimonji of Kyoto’s Gozan no Okuribi. However, very few people, even in the Kansai region, are aware of the Daimonji Okuribi on Mount Takamado in Nara. Today is the day for Kyoto’s Gozan no Okuribi, but Nara’s Takamado Okuribi was held yesterday, on the 15th.
Of course, Kyoto’s Daimonji Okuribi has a long history, with origins said to be either from the Heian or Edo periods, but the Okuribi on Mount Takamado in Nara began in Showa 35 (1960). It was started to console the souls of those who died in the war, but now it has become a ritual to console all the deceased and to pray for world peace. It is also cherished as a summer tradition in the ancient capital of Nara. Additionally, before lighting the “大” character on Mount Takamado, a Shinto memorial service is held in Kasuga Taisha’s Tobihino area by the priests of Kasuga Taisha, followed by a Buddhist memorial service by monks from temples within the prefecture. This event, which transcends religion and sects to pray for peace, is a very rare practice even on a national level.
While Kyoto’s Gozan no Okuribi has become fully commercialized and attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year, including many foreign tourists, Nara and Kyoto are often compared and contrasted. However, compared to Kyoto’s splendor, Nara still carries a somewhat subdued image. It’s often said that while Kyoto is known for its extravagant clothing culture and Osaka for its food culture, Nara is humorously referred to as a place where people “sleep their lives away.” Though one might nod in agreement, on the other hand, the charm of Nara, which was also the beginning of the Yamato Province, is encapsulated in the classical epithet “Aoniyoshi（.a traditional Japanese poetic epithet known as a “makurakotoba” (pillow word)）,”

大文字送り火といえば誰もが思い浮かべるのは京都五山の送り火。奈良高円山の大文字送り火を知る人は地元関西でも知る人は僅かです。今日は京都五山の送り火ですが、奈良高円の送り火は昨日15日に執り行われました。
もちろん京都五山の送り火は歴史も古く、起源は平安時代とも江戸時代とも言われていますが、奈良高円山の送り火は昭和35年(1960年)に始まりました。戦争で亡くなった方々の魂を慰めるために始まりましたが、今では亡くなられたすべての人々の慰霊と世界平和を祈る行事で、古都奈良の夏の風物詩としても親しまれています。また、高円山への「大」の字の点火に先立ち、春日大社境内の飛火野では、春日大社の神職による神式慰霊祭に続き、県下の寺院の僧侶による仏式慰霊祭が執り行われますが、これは「宗教・宗派をこえて平和を祈る」という全国的にも大変珍しい形で執り行われます。
京都五山の送り火はすっかり観光化され、訪れる観光客も外国人も含め、毎年数万人にも及びます。古都奈良と京都は何かにつけ比較対照されますが、京都の華やかさに比べて、奈良はくすんだ印象が拭えません。京都は着倒れ、大阪は食い倒れとよく言いますが、奈良は寝倒れと揶揄する人がいます。なるほどと頷く反面、大和の国の始まりでもある奈良の良さは、枕詞「あおによし」に込められていると思います。