It is apparently the tradition in many cities across Japan to have a little festival in mid January to burn to in luck for the new year.
We showed up at around 5 pm at Hachiman Shrine, which was packed with more Japanese people than I have seen anywhere. The road was roped off for several blocks leading up to the shrine (this is a 5-lane road, not a little street), and the hundred yard walk up the stairs from the entrance to the fire took the better part of a half an hour. When we finally got there, we got a look at this enormous bonfire going, no ropes holding people back, and people throwing stuff in.
In some of these pictures (see below) you’ll see these people in essentially a white headband and glorified shorts, and the many laboratories, classes, and companies do this. I’m told that this tradition started when during this celebration, sake brewers wanted to prove their strength and so go around like this in the freezing weather. And what’s more, it’s not a little jog down to the shrine warming up on the fire and then sprinting home. They really take their time, and they walk around a lot before they even come to the shrine. I imagine it gets chilly.
The things that people were throwing into the fire included New Year’s decorations, but also these items (many of which had dice on them) available for purchase nearby. A bystander who spoke English (he’s a professor at our University on another campus), was trying to tell us the significance, but it was too loud to hear, and most of it was lost on me.
Not far from the fire, there were hundreds of little food stands or game stands (very fair-like), and we had some food, and walked around the what was practically a little village around for while and found a temple where the scantily-clad folk were going and drinking a cup of sake, and then moving on. There was also a huge crowd in front of it all where people were waiting to throw money (in units of 5 yen) into these collection bins and ring a bell. Off to the side, you could buy a fortune for anywhere from 100 yen (~$1 US) to 30,000+ yen (~$300+ US).
Amazing festival, and I hope to see another again some day.
