Okera Mairi
At
Yasaka-jinja Shrine around midnight on December 31, the roots of the medicinal plant Okera (Atractylodes japonica) are set ablaze in the Okera Mairi Festival. Visitors to the shrine then take home the embers of the fire, taking care to keep them alight. The embers are then used to cook zoni, a broth containing chicken, vegetables, and rice cakes. This custom dates back to ancient times and has been designated as an important cultural property of Kyoto.
