On August 5th, a Ten Thousand Lantern Festival (Mantōe) was held at Daigo-ji Temple in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City. The Ten Thousand Lantern Festival is a ceremonial event held annually on the night of August 5th, where lanterns are lit to offer prayers of gratitude to ancestors, spirits, and all living beings, commemorating their lives. At dusk, numerous stone lanterns and paper lanterns are arranged along the approach to the temple, and even the national treasure main hall and five-story pagoda are specially illuminated. Originally, there was an event called “Yomairi” on the evening before the anniversary of the founder of Daigo-ji Temple, Rigen Daishi, who passed away on August 6th (874 AD). This tradition continued until the Taisho period. However, it was discontinued amidst the anti-Buddhist sentiment during the Meiji Restoration. Subsequently, the festival was revived in 1990 and has continued to evolve in accordance with the times, becoming the Ten Thousand Lantern Festival as we know it today. It has now become a symbol of Kyoto’s summer, attracting numerous visitors.

８月５日、京都市伏見区にある醍醐寺で万灯会が営まれました。万灯会は、灯明をともしてご祖先や精霊を供養し、生きとし生けるものの命に報恩感謝の祈りを捧げる法要で、毎年8月5日の夜に営まれます。日没頃から参道に並ぶ多くの置き灯ろうや提灯に日が灯され、国宝の金堂や五重塔も特別にライトアップされます。元は、醍醐寺を創建（874年）した理源大師の命日である8月6日の開山忌の前日に「夜参り」と言う行事があって、大正時代まで続いていたようです。それも明治維新の廃仏毀釈の風潮の中で途絶えてしまいました。その後、1990年に復活し、時代に合わせて形を変えて続けられてきたのが万灯会です。今では京都の夏を彩る風物詩ともなり、多くの参拝者が訪れます。