Burning of the Character Big

The Burning of the Character "Big" (大), also known as Daimonjiyaki (Japanese: 大文字焼き) or Daimonji Festival is the Japanese Buddhist ritual of burning wood in the character "Big" (大), typically in the mountain, on the last day of the 4-day Bon Festival to send back to the other world the spirits of the family ancestors that they welcomed on the first day.

Burning of the Character Big, on Mount Myojo, in the Hakone Mountains

The Character Big, on Mount Nyoi, in Kyoto

There are many locations in Japan where this ritual is held. In western Japan, the Okuribi of the Five Mountains, celebrated in Kyoto, is the most famous,[1] while in eastern Japan, the ritual during the Hakone Gora Summer Festival with the fire burned on Mount Myōjō in the Hakone Mountains is relatively well known because of its proximity to Tokyo.[2]