Fire ritual in Japan for Yang Guifei  

日本山口举办杨贵妃火焰祭奠 近百中国留学生参加

据日本《中文导报》报道，10月13日，以杨贵妃逃亡中漂流到日本山口县长门市油谷向津具并长眠于此的传说为背景，一年一度的“杨贵妃火焰祭典”在长门市油谷向津具的二尊院内隆重举办。[查看全文]

(ECNS) – An annual fire ritual in memory of Yang Guifei(713-756), an imperial consort of Emperor Xuanzong (685-762) from Tang Dynasty, was held in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, on Sunday, the Japan-based Chinese Review Weekly reported.

At the ritual, a group of monks chanted sutras around a fire, intended to regenerate Yang's soul. They also threw sticks engraved with words of wishes, such as long friendship between China and Japan, and blessing slips written by visitors, into the fire.

After the fire burned out, monks and visitors ran through the ashes barefoot, praying for all wishes to come true.

Hundreds of Chinese students participated in the ritual.

According to local legend, Yang fled to Japan during the An Lushan Rebellion. But before long, she passed away and was buried in a local temple.

Today, the temple has become a holy site for visitors to pray for happy marriage and safe birth.