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Candles in Nara Park 2025/1/27 01:36
I was in Nara at the Wakakusayama fire festival. In the park, there were many candles spread out on the grass throughout the park. It reminded me of the paper lanterns that float on the river. My friend said that the paper lanterns that float on the river is a Buddhist tradition to help guide the souls to the spirit world. Would the candles we saw have the same meaning, although they were on the lawn instead of a river? Thank you in advance for any explanation.
by Guest (guest)  

Re: Candles in Nara Park 2025/1/27 08:19
Do you mean https://ohmatsuri.com/en/articles/nara-wakakusayama-yamayaki ?
As for candles in Nara Park, last time I saw them they were more decorative (patterns) and more associated with Kasuga Taisha like the following https://en.japantravel.com/nara/wish-upon-a-lantern/22214
by JapanCustomTours rate this post as useful

Re: Candles in Nara Park 2025/1/28 07:32
Yes, the Wakakusayama-yaki. We were in the park farther from the mountain side --- on the other side of the main street (that runs through Nara Park). That's where we saw the candles --- they looked just like the ones shown in your link.

Water lanterns float down the river as if going on a journey (so I can understand the meaning of guiding souls to the spirit world), but for candles in the park, they are stationary on the grass, so would the meaning be different?
by Guest (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Candles in Nara Park 2025/2/3 17:56
That event was a winter version of Tokae event in the summer.
Tokae is just a tourist event and not related to any religious matter.
Toka(燈花)means a flower-shaped mass that forms at the tip of a wick.
You may refer to the website of Tokae as bellow:

https://www.toukae.jp/about/
by Kakuhiro rate this post as useful

Re: Candles in Nara Park 2025/2/4 11:46
Yes, that's it. Thank you for the explanation!
by Guest (guest) rate this post as useful

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