Worshipers pray for ancestors at Koyasan, western Japan

Worshipers lit about 100,000 candles to pray for their ancestors at a sacred mountain in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan. Mount Koya, or Koyasan, is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Koyasan's candle festival takes place every year on August 13. 

Numerous small lanterns bearing wishes written by worshipers were also placed on the path in a shape of a Chinese character meaning "bloom." The character was chosen to stand for the wish that a flower for everyone's happiness will bloom.