F E S T I V A L ／ FEST-217
Hayama Fire Festival
麓山の火祭りはやまのひまつり
The Hayama Fire Festival, held at Hayama Shrine in the Kamiteoka area of Tomioka, Fukushima, is a fire rite designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Fukushima Prefecture. Rooted in the mountain worship known as Hayama belief, blended with Shinto-Buddhist syncretism, it prays for bountiful harvests, freedom from illness, and household safety. By day, parishioners present the "Seventy-five Offerings," arranging home-grown produce before the deity in thanks for the harvest. At dusk, young men in white loincloths shoulder torches of bundled reed and bamboo—the largest about three meters long and forty kilograms—and, to the chant of "sendo, sendo," race up the approach to the summit shrine at roughly 230 meters elevation. After three banzai cheers at the top they charge back down trailing flames and circle the shrine hall thirty-three times clockwise. Suspended in 2011 after the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, the festival was revived in 2018, making it a powerful emblem of the region's recovery and the residents' return.
H I G H L I G H T S
Highlights
- 01Young men in white loincloths shoulder blazing torches up to about three meters long and forty kilograms
- 02A mass charge up the 230-meter approach trailing fire, to the chant of "sendo, sendo"
- 03After descending from the summit, the bearers circle the shrine hall thirty-three times clockwise while still holding fire
- 04A 'fire of recovery': suspended for seven years after the nuclear accident and revived in 2018 following evacuation and return
D E E P D I V E