Wakakusa-yama Yaki (Mt. Wakakusa flames)

The Wakakusa Yaki is a traditional event held on the 342-meter-high, 33-hectare grass-covered mountain at the eastern edge of Nara Park to herald the arrival of spring in the ancient capital of Nara.

The sight of the mountainside engulfed in flames is spectacular, and the intensity of the flames burning up the night sky is a spectacularly beautiful sight that can truly be called a festival of flames.

Held every year on the fourth Saturday in January, various events and ceremonies are held in the afternoon at the foot of the mountain.

Just prior to the burning of the mountain, a large fireworks display is set off, creating a colorful dance of lights in the clear winter night sky.

Although the festival has been held since before the Edo period (1603-1867), it was not until the Meiji period (1868-1912) that it became an official event, and it was not until the late Meiji period (1868-1912) that it began to be held at night.

The burning of the mountain usually begins in earnest around 6:00 p.m. every year. The mountain burns for 30 minutes to an hour after it begins (this may vary from year to year).

In the Edo period (1603-1867), civilians often burned the mountain to appease the spirits at the top of the triple mound of the Yushizuka burial mound.

Then, superstition spread that if the mountain was not burned once a year, something unfortunate would happen, and the burning of the mountain became increasingly popular.

Toward the end of the Edo period, Todaiji Temple, Kofukuji Temple, and the Nara Magistrate’s Office were present to burn the mountain, including to repose the souls of the Uguizuka tumulus.

It can be said that the burning of the mountain was both a ritual to repose the souls buried in the Uguisuzuka burial mound in Yamagami Kofun and a memorial service.