Kurama Fire Festival (Kurama-no-Himatsuri)

The information about Kurama Fire Festival (Kurama-no-Himatsuri) is presented here. Kurama Fire Festival is held every year on October 22nd. At Kurama Fire Festival, with the signal of “Shinji ni mairashare”, bonfires piled up in the houses are lit, and boys carrying sho-taimatsu (small torches) parade around, joined by adults carrying dai-taimatsu (large torches), and head toward Otabisho, repeatedly chanting “sairei, sairyo (festival)”.

【Kurama Fire Festival 2024 Schedule (confirmation required)】

Kurama Fire Festivall 2024 will be held on Tuesday, October 22th, 2024, from around 6:00 p.m. (rain or shine, no postponement) (In the event of a typhoon or other stormy weather, events may be canceled or the content of events may be changed.)

【Kurama Fire Festival map ＆ access】

Address: 1073 Kurama Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Access (How to get there): Kurama station (about 15 minutes on foot)

【Kurama Fire Festival (Kurama-no-Himatsuri) brief overview】

Kurama Fire Festival (Kurama-no-Himatsuri, 鞍馬の火祭) is a festival of Yuki Shrine. The origin of the Kurama Fire Festival is said to date back to 940, when the 61st Emperor Suzaku ordered the deity Yuki Myojin (Ohonamuchi no Mikoto and Sukunahikona no Mikoto) enshrined at the Imperial Palace to be moved to Kurama to protect the northern region, and the villagers welcomed the deity Yuki Myojin with a bonfire. The bonfire was made of reeds that grew in the Kamo-gawa River and was said to be 1 kilometer long. Kurama Fire Festival is said to have a history of more than 1,000 years. Kurama Fire Festival (Kurama-no-Himatsuri) is counted as one of the Kyoto Sandai Kisai (three major strange festivals), along with Ushi Matsuri (Osake Shrine, Koyu-ji Temple) and Yasurai Matsuri (Imamiya Shrine), and as one of the Kyoto Sandai Himatsuri (Three Major Fire Festivals), along with Gozan Okuribi (Gozan no Okuribi, Bonfire) and Otaimatsu-shiki (Seiryo-ji Temple (Saga Shakado)).
At Kurama Fire Festival, Reisai (annual festival) is held in the morning to pray for a great and safe festival. Afterwards, Hosen-no-gi is held, the spirits of Yuki daimyojin and Hasho daimyojin are transferred to two Mikoshi (portable shrines), and two Mikoshi (portable shrines) are then placed in front of the Nio-mon gate of Kurama-dera Temple. At around 18:00, bonfires piled up in the houses are lit, and boys carrying sho-taimatsu (small torches) parade around, joined by adults carrying dai-taimatsu (large torches), and head toward Otabisho (Nakama), repeatedly chanting “sairei, sairyo (festival)”. Then hoko of kiku (chrysanthemum), kiri (paulownia), chou (butterfly), aoi (hollyhock), mukade (centipede) and others, and yoroi-musha (armored warriors) leave Otabisho. Around 8:00 p.m., sho-taimatsu (small torches) and dai-taimatsu (large torches) gather in front of the Nio-mon gate, and when the shimenawa stretched on the shojin-dake (bamboo) is cut to the sound of taiko (drum), sho-taimatsu (small torches) and dai-taimatsu (large torches) are burned in one place under the stone steps. After that, Mikoshi (Hasho daimyojin) and Mikoshi (Yuki daimyojin) go down the stone steps and approach in that order, passing through the shrine parishioners area, and heading to Otabisho. At this time, yoroi-musha (armored warriors) ride on Mikoshi, women (otome) pull the rope to prevent it from speeding up, and man in shimekomi (tight clothes) hangs upside down from the carrying pole in front of it, forming an upside-down “Dai (大)” figure with his legs wide open. When women pull the rope, it is said to have the benefit of an easy birth, and the formation of an upside-down “Dai (大)” figure is called “Choppen-no-gi” and is considered a coming-of-age ritual. When two Mikoshi arrive at Otabisho and are enshrined, the kagura is dedicated, and the four kagura taimatsu (torches) go around Otabisho, and Shinko-sai of Kurama Fire Festival ends. The next day, at around 2:00. on the 23rd, two Mikoshi return from Otabisho to Yuki Shrine, and Kanko-sai of Kurama Fire Festival ends.

★Dai-taimatsu (large torches) are said to be kaisho-matsu and are about 1 meter in diameter, about 4 meters long, and weigh more than 100 kilograms. Sho-taimatsu (small torches) are said to weigh about 30 to 70 kilograms. Junior high school students are said to weigh about 60 kilograms, and elementary school students about 30 kilograms. The number of taimatsu (dai-taimatsu (large torches) and sho-taimatsu (small torches)) is said to be about 500.

【Yuki Shrine brief overview】
Yuki Shrine (由岐神社) is said to have been founded in 940. A major earthquake occurred in 938, the Taira no Masakado-no-Ran (Tegyo-no-no-Ran) occurred in 939, and in 940, Ohonamuchi no Mikoto and Sukunahikona no Mikoto, who had been enshrined in the Imperial Palace, were moved to Kurama as the god of the Kurama area and the god of the protection of the northern region by order of the 51st Emperor Suzaku.
*reference・・・Yuki Shrine website

【Kurama Fire Festival (Kurama-no-Himatsuri) remarks】
*Events may be rescheduled or cancelled. Also, the content of the event may have changed.
鞍馬の火祭 (Kurama Fire Festival)