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The Yomiuri Shimbun Visitors light candles around stone Buddha statues and small pagodas during a memorial service at the Adashino Nenbutsuji temple in Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, on Saturday.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
17:16 JST, August 25, 2024
KYOTO — About 8,000 stone Buddha statues and small pagodas were illuminated by candlelight during a memorial service for untended souls at the Adashino Nenbutsuji temple in Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, on Saturday.
The Adashino area is known as a place where bodies were left exposed to the elements for disposal during the Heian period (794-late 12th century).
The memorial service is thought to have begun in the Meiji era (1868-1912). Local residents brought stone Buddha statues and pagodas, which had been left unclaimed over many years, into the temple grounds and prayed. The illuminated stones created a fantastic atmosphere in front of the main hall of the temple. The service was also held on Sunday.
