Where the Dead Pause, and the Japanese Say Goodbye: A Journey (70 page)

In Ky
t
’s Obon, the great send-off is marked by an event called Daimonji, which literally translates to “Big Characters.” The “characters” in question are both Chinese characters, which the Japanese imported into its language starting at the time of Prince Sh
toku, and pictures.

These pictures are large images carved into mountainsides, which are then lit up in the dark via giant bonfires:
, or “big”;
, or “wondrous dharma”; a picture of a boat; another
, or “big”; and a picture of a
torii
, or the gate one sees in front of Shint
shrines. At a designated time, volunteers light up these fires, and city lights in Ky
t
are dimmed to allow people to see the flames and to pay their respects; these bonfires are a way of sending back the souls of the dead after their weeklong visit. In Japanese, sending back the dead is called “Okuribi,” or “the great fire of sending-off.”

Each character has its own distinct location and story. The shape of the boat, for example, is a reference to a “spirit ship” that helps guide the souls of the dead to the Buddhist Western Paradise; the prow of the ship points to the west. The meaning of the “large” characters is less clear, but they seem to have to do with sending off the souls of ancestors with as “big” a fire as possible. Each of the fires is also maintained by a set group of individuals who have inherited their roles. Some of the bonfires have a strict procedure; the
torii
bonfire, for example, is lit all at once. Some of the bonfires involve a procession of men running through the local neighborhood before they reach their destination. Most of the bonfires also have related activities for onlookers; at the “big” bonfire, you can write your wishes on a strip of cedar, called a Gomagi, which you can then present at Ginkakuji, Ky
t
’s famous silver pavilion. Your Gomagi will then be burned in the bonfire, the smoke transmitting your particular wish up to the heavens.

While the Ky
t
Daimonji is one of Japan’s most famous Okuribi—returning the souls via fire—it is by no means the only one. Just as there are numerous ways to call home the spirits of the dead, there are also numerous ways to send them back. It would take a lifetime in Japan to see each ritual; I was going to have to choose just one. Much as I longed to stay in Ky
t
, my heart was calling in another direction.