This fire is shaped like a boat to transport the spirits of one’s ancestors. It’s said that the boat’s prow points west because Sukhavati, the Mahayana Buddhist land of bliss, lies to the west. The word for Mahayana Buddhism in Japanese includes a kanji that means “to ride,” so one might say that riding a ship to salvation is a symbol of the religion’s worldview.

Traditional rites like the Gozan no Okuribi birth solidarity within these communities; Kyoto’s famous Jizo Festival only exists thanks to strong bonds among the citizens and their neighbors. It literally takes a village in complete solidarity to make the Gozan no Okuribi possible, banded together like passengers on a ship. Rites like these are inherited, and that inheritance represents the bonds of the people in this region.