Wakakusa Yamayaki - Burning the Mountain 2024

One of the interesting events that took place at the end of January is the burning of Mt. Wakakusa in Nara Japan,also known as Wakakusa Yamayaki.
The origin of the practice has mixed answers, some say it was temple conflicts, others say it was to drive away wild boars; but the site of the mountain says it's because of a spirit that resides in the moutain:
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"A long time ago, a spirit would come out of this tomb and scare the people, but if the mountain was burned, the spirit would not appear. If the mountain was not burned by January of the following year, something undesirable would happen."
So because of this people began burning the mountain, which became a fire hazard for the nearby temples. The goverment outlawed the arison in 1738, but people kept starting fires. So the temples and magistrate office near the mountain decided to burn it themselves, leading to the tradition you see today.
"In this way, it can be said that the origin of Yamayaki was a ritual to appease the souls to be buried in the Uguisuzuka of the Yamagami Kofun, and it was also a memorial service."