Wakakusayama Mountain Burning
A cool HD quality YouTube video from the Asahi Shimbun showing Wakakusayama mountain in Nara being set ablaze:
Why do they do it? Here’s a little explanation from the Kansai Institute of Information Systems:
On January each year, burning of the turf which covers the hills begins at the signal of the shooting of fireworks (Yamayaki).
There are various theories about the origin of this event; for example, one suggests that the practice was initially started in order to resolve territorial disputes among the Kofukuji and Todaiji temples and the Kasuga Shrine and another that its purpose is to slay goblins living on the hills.
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