F E S T I V A L ／ FEST-206
Sakaki Matsuri (Sacred-Branch Fire Festival)
榊祭りさかきまつり
Held every August 15 in the Mochizuki district of Saku City, Nagano, the Sakaki Matsuri is the annual fire festival tied to the rites of Otomo Shrine, staged along the old Nakasendo post-town streets of Mochizuki from dusk deep into the night. Its signature moment comes when bearers carrying lit torches run down from the hillside and hurl their flames one after another into the Kakuma River, sending a ribbon of fire racing across the dark water — a spectacle long known as one of Shinshu's strangest festivals. Bearers also slam sacred-branch (sakaki) palanquins violently against the ground; together, fire and sakaki are believed to purge the year's impurities and to pray for a good harvest and good health. Said to date back to the Muromachi period, the festival now folds in children's palanquins, transverse-flute music, boat-pulling, Mochizuki taiko drumming, fireworks, folk-dance processions, and a lion dance, and is sustained as a community-wide civic festival.
H I G H L I G H T S
Highlights
- 01Bearers run downhill with burning torches and throw the flames into the Kakuma River, painting a ribbon of fire across the water
- 02Sacred-branch (sakaki) palanquins are slammed violently against the ground in a fierce purification rite
- 03A rare 'fire festival plus river-cast' form said to descend from the medieval period
- 04A continuous night-long sequence of rites set along the old Nakasendo streets of Mochizuki post town
D E E P D I V E
Deep Dive
R E F E R E N C E