Bon, the Buddhist Festival of the Dead, is celebrated throughout Japan, but exact dates vary from region to region. Kyoto traditionally observes Bon Aug. 7-16, and, not surprisingly, given its more than 1,200 years of history and strong Buddhist traditions, the town has some unique ways of paying tribute to the holiday.
As Bon approaches, the main guests, the o-shorai-san (Kyoto dialect for ancestral spirits) must be summoned from "the other side." In Kyoto this entails paying a visit to either Rokudo Chinkoji or Senbon Shakado, two temples traditionally assumed to be able to perform this intermediary service.
Located near the famous cemetery of Toribeno, Rokudo Chinkoji slumbers for most of the year in relative obscurity. During the period Aug. 7-10, however, the temple precincts witness a steady stream of people arriving between 6 a.m. and midnight to ring the temple bell. Unlike those of other temples, Chinkoji's bronze bell is struck by pulling, rather than pushing, its wooden "clapper." By ringing this bell, you are said to be able to pull your ancestors' spirits back to this world.