On January 4th , after seeing
the macaques and an aquarium in Beppu we went to a small town in Oita
prefecture to see this festival. It was a cold evening and while waiting around
I decided to buy a good winter coat that week. (I did). However, once the
action was on, fires burned left right and center and I was happy with my old one.
Men in loincloth (it seems to be the traditional dress code at winter festivals) carried burning torches across a river which must have been freezing cold.
A huge bonfire was lit on the river bank and further up near the shrine the bamboo torches were beat in a way that they produced as many sparkles as possible, an exhilarating kind of fireworks that had me running for shelter a few times. I managed to squeeze a few shots though and even succeeded to safe that old jacket.
The fire is meant to destroy evil,
represented by this mask of a red demon, called ‘oni’.
An exciting fire festival, very different from the one at Atago in December, worth the long wait and my cold hands and feet.
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