Events around Nara Park (August 2011)

Around Nara Park:

Aug. 5(fri) - 14(sun) Ten Nights Of Lantern Illumination (NARA TO-KAE)
See a related journal entry for details: click here.

Aug. 7(sun) Cleaning of Great Buddha (Ominugui)
7:00 ~ 9:30 @Great Buddha Hall in Todaiji Temple
This is once a year cleaning day for Great Buddha. About 120 Buddhist monks and laypeople clean Great Buddha form head to toe. Although the cleaning starts from 7:00am, Great Buddha Hall is opened to the public from 7:30am.

Aug. 14(sun) & 15(mon) All 3000 Lanterns Light Up Day (Chugen Mantoro)
@Kasuga Grand Shrine
Lanterns of Kasuga Grand Shrine used to be lit up every night, but today they are lit up only on certain days.

18:30~ (Aug. 14) Offertory of Bugaku, traditional Japanese court music and dances / (Aug. 15) Offertory of Kagura, Shinto’s offertory music and dances
19:00~ All 3000 lanterns are lit.
 *With donation of 3000yen or more, you can light up a lantern by yourself.
20:30 Gates closed.

Aug. 15(mon) Thousands Of Lantern Lights Offered To Great Buddha (Manto Kuyo-e)
19:00 ~ 22:00 @ Great Buddha Hall in Todaiji Temple
About 2500 lanterns are lit in front of Great Buddha Hall. Each lantern is offered to Great Buddha with a prayer, varying from a health to world peace. This lantern offering started as a way to console the souls of the dead who are believed to be making their summer visit to this world form the other world during this time of a year. Inside the hall, Buddhist monks hold a religious ceremony to pray for the dead and to send the prayers on lanterns to Great Buddha.

Aug. 15(mon) Nara “大”-shaped Bonfire (Nara Dai-monji Okuribi)
“大”, pronounced ‘dai’, symbolizes cosmos. 108 small bonfires are lined to form “大” shape. This bonfire is a popular summer event, and you can watch the fire from mostly anywhere in Nara. Tobihino Field and Sarusawa Pond are very popular viewing places. The fire only lasts about 10 min.

Light up: 20:00~

Around Kintetsu Yamato Saidaiji Station:

Aug. 19(fri) – 21(sun) Heijo Palace Site Summer Night Festival (Heijo-kyo Tenpyo-sai Natsu)
@ Heijo Palace Site
See a related journal entry for details: click here.

Around Horyuji Temple and Nishino-kyo:

Aug. 23(tue) & 24(wed) Special Viewing of Hidden Statue
@ Jizo-do Hall in Toshodaiji Temple
A statue of Jizo, a Buddhist saint for children, is open to the public. This opening is a part of Jizo Bon Ceremony, a Buddhist ceremony to pray for children’s healthy growth to Jizo. The statue is an important cultural property.

Sue
-NARAWALK guide