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#NewYear is #Japan's biggest holiday. #Buddhist and #Shinto traditions focus on removing negative influences of the old year and greeting the new year with calm presence of mind.
Many gather at Buddhist temples late on #NewYearsEve to hear the bell rung 108 times, to lift each of 108 afflictions that stop the soul from achieving #nirvana.
#ChionIn in #Kyoto, head temple of the most widely practised branch of #Buddhism in Japan, streams its ceremony:
Temples that practise #Shingon #Buddhism, one of the few surviving #Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, perform #goma fire rituals (derived from #Hinduism's #homa) to destroy harmful thoughts and desires, and to seek blessings and the fulfilment of prayers.
#ByodoJi is part of the oldest and largest Shingon sect in #Japan and is a stop on the #Shikoku Pilgrimage trail. Byodo-ji streams its #NewYear goma ritual from midnight: