But why does Rokudo Chinnō-ji play such an important role at this time of year?
Long believed to stand on the borderland between the realms of the living and the dead, the temple is home to the 'Hell King' Enma Dai-Ō (閻魔大王), judge of the deceased.
Rokudō Chinnō-ji (六道珍皇寺). At death humans are summoned before Enma Dai-Ō (閻魔大王), 'king of hell' and 'judge of the dead', who examines their character and dispatches them to their appropriate rebirth (whether to earth or to one of the heavens or hells).