KYOTO -- Thousands of candles placed on stone Buddhas and pagodas lit up a temple here on Aug. 23 during the "thousand light commemoration ceremony," in memory of the now-unvisited dead.

The ceremony was held at Adashino Nenbutsu-ji, a temple in the Okusaga district of Kyoto's Ukyo Ward. Adashino has been known as an area for funereal activities since the Heian Period (794 to 1185). It's said that the ceremony, called "sentokuyo" in Japanese, came about when the temple's monks and residents from the area gathered together and lined up the previously buried stone Buddhist images. It is now a late-summer seasonal tradition.

Although rain fell without reprieve on Aug. 23, from 6 p.m. worshippers walked across the grounds, lighting candles on the stones one by one before bringing their hands together in prayer, as Buddhist sutra readings echoed through the air. The stones, which have endured the wind and rain for many years, shone softly under the candlelight.

The ceremony will be held again on Aug. 24.

(Japanese original by Kenji Yagura, Kyoto Bureau)