, also known as Mount Mikasa (三笠山 ''Mikasa-yama''), is a hill located to the east of

Nara Park is a public park located in the city of Nara, Japan, at the foot of Mount Wakakusa. Established in 1880, it is one of the oldest parks in Japan. Administratively, the park is under the control of Nara Prefecture. The park is one of the "Places o ...

in the city of

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

Nara Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the northwest, Wakayama ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The mountain's name literally means "young grass". On the fourth Saturday of each January, the dead grass of Mount Wakakusa is burned in an annual festival known as ''Yamayaki'' (山焼き literally "mountain burning"). The tradition supposedly originated from a boundary dispute between two temples,

Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Japan. Though it was originally founded in the year 738 CE, Tōdai-ji was not opened until the year 752 CE. The temple has undergo ...

and

Kōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples in the city of Nara, Japan. The temple is the national headquarters of the Hossō school. History Kōfuku-ji has its origin as a temple that was established in 669 b ...

in 1760; after mediation failed, the entire mountain was set ablaze. Other explanations suggest that the extermination of

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is no ...

or other pests was the original purpose. The festival today begins with a ceremonial igniting by representatives of both temples, followed by a

fireworks display Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...

. The festival has sometimes been postponed or cancelled because of poor weather or during wartime.

Locations to view the Yamayaki Festival

The burning of Mount Wakakusa as part of the annual festival can be seen from the city of Nara and many other locations in the northern part of the Nara Basin. It can be viewed at a further distance from the Aeon Mall Yamato-kōriyama multilevel parking lot, and from buildings in the cities of Kashihara and

Gose Gose () is a warm fermented beer that originated in Goslar, Germany. It is usually brewed with at least 50% of the grain bill being malted wheat. Dominant flavours in gose include a lemon sourness, a herbal characteristic, and a strong salti ...

. The blazing hillside is also visible from

Mount Kongō is a mountain in the Kawachi region of Osaka Prefecture, Kansai, Japan. It is near Mount Yamato Katsuragi. The mountain has lent its name to a series of naval ships and ship classes: the Imperial Japanese Navy's 1877 ironclad ''Kongō''; ...

Mount Ikoma is a mountain on the border of Nara Prefecture and Osaka Prefecture in Japan. It is the highest peak in the Ikoma Mountains with a height of 642 meters. Mount Ikoma is a part of Kongō-Ikoma-Kisen Quasi-National Park. It is one of the most famo ...

, Hōzan-ji and the ''ryokan'' street directly below it. The most popular viewing locations, however, include Nara Park near the five-storied pagoda of

, Oike pond near

Yakushi-ji is one of the most famous imperial and ancient Buddhist temples in Japan, and was once one of the Seven Great Temples of Nanto, located in Nara. The temple is the headquarters of the Hossō school of Japanese Buddhism. Yakushi-ji is one of th ...

, and

Heijō Palace was the imperial residence in the Japanese capital city Heijō-kyō (today's Nara), during most of the Nara period. The palace, which served as the imperial residence and the administrative centre of for most of the Nara period from 710 to 794 ...

Gallery

File:Mt. wakakusa overlooking Nara.JPG, Overlooking Nara File:Night view of Nara from Wakakusayama 20141001.jpg, Night view of Nara File:MtWakakusa_Nara_Japan.jpg, Viewed from Heijō Palace (with Mt Kasuga on the right) File:Wakakusa-yakushiji.jpg, Yakushiji and Mount Wakakusa seen from Oike pond File:090124 wakakusa yamayaki.jpg, Burning the dead grass, with accompanying fireworks File:120128 WAKAKUSAYAMA yamayaki.gif, Burning the dead grass (animation)

References

External links

Mt. Wakakusa, from The Official Nara Travel Guide
Wakakusa {{Nara-geo-stub