Otō Matsuri

Overview

The Oto Festival (Oto Matsuri), also written as Otou Matsuri or Otomatsuri, is a valiant fire festival held on the night of February 6 each year at Kamikura Shrine in Shingu City, Wakayama Prefecture. Kamikura Shrine is an auxiliary shrine of Kumano Hayatama Taisha, and with a huge rock called Gotobiki-iwa as its object of worship, it is a sacred site said to be the very origin of Kumano faith. The sight of countless flames flowing down the shrine's steep stone stairway like a waterfall is breathtaking, and the festival is known throughout Japan as the fire festival that calls spring to Kumano.

The stars of the festival are the roughly two thousand men called noboriko, clad in white garments bound with rough rope. Holding torches lit from the sacred fire, they dash all at once down a steep stairway of five hundred and thirty-eight steps from the summit of Mount Kamikura. The way the entire mountain is wrapped in flame, appearing like a waterfall of fire or a descending dragon, is a spectacle truly worthy of a strange festival of Kumano where the mysterious and the frenzied intersect. As a festival that forbids the participation of women, rare even nationwide, and as an event conveying a history of more than a thousand years, it was designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of the nation in 2016.

History and Origins

The Oto Festival is a festival of very ancient history, said to have continued for more than 1,400 years. Kamikura Shrine, its stage, is an auxiliary shrine of Kumano Hayatama Taisha, yet its founding is said to be even older than that of Hayatama Taisha, and it is regarded as the birthplace of Kumano faith. Preserving to this day a primal form of nature worship that reveres a great rock called Gotobiki-iwa as its object of worship, the shrine is where the Oto Festival has been continuously handed down as a rite in that sacred place.

There is an origin rooted in daily life behind why this festival takes fire as its central element. It is said that long ago the noboriko hurried down the stone steps, urging one another to be quick before the flame went out, in order to carry home the sacred fire, the fire of the gods, as tinder for the hearths of their houses. A simple faith of welcoming into the home the pure fire granted by the gods and praying for a safe year runs at the root of this fierce fire festival. Women, it is said, waited at home for that fire and transferred it to the hearth.

The fact that the Oto Festival is known as a festival forbidding the participation of women, rare even nationwide, is also bound to such ancient faith. The noboriko who take part are limited to men, and participants purify themselves for several days beforehand and prepare the prescribed attire of white garments, rough rope, straw sandals, tabi socks, and torches before facing the festival. In the figures of the noboriko, purified in body and mind, dashing down with the flames while praying for such things as the safety of the household, there lives a strict etiquette befitting those who handle sacred fire.

Long designated an intangible folk cultural property of Wakayama Prefecture, the Oto Festival was highly esteemed for its historical and cultural value and designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of the nation in 2016. The area including Kamikura Shrine is a sacred site deeply connected with the World Heritage Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range, and the Oto Festival, a rare fire festival born of the faith and land of Kumano, is even now solemnly preserved and handed down by the hands of local people.

Highlights

The Waterfall of Fire Flowing Down the Mountain The greatest highlight of the Oto Festival is the sight of countless torches dashing all at once down the steep stone stairway of Mount Kamikura. The way the flames held by some two thousand noboriko flow down in a connected stream is likened to a waterfall of fire or a descending dragon, and the great flow of flame emerging in the darkness of night is of unrivaled power. Many spectators gather in the town of Shingu to catch a glimpse of this fantastical and stunning scene.

The Noboriko Dashing Down 538 Steps The core of this festival is the sight of the noboriko, clad in white bound with rough rope, holding aloft their torches as they dash at once down the steep and long stairway of five hundred and thirty-eight steps. Amid the danger and tension of a great number descending the narrow and rugged steps at the same time, the noboriko rush down while raising their voices. Their power and heat strike the hearts of all who watch.

The Sacred Fire of Gotobiki-iwa The fire of the festival is divided from the sacred fire lit at the foot of Gotobiki-iwa, the object of worship. In the sequence of receiving a sacred fire at a sacred site of primal rock worship and carrying it down the mountain transferred to the torches, the essence of Kumano faith, rooted in nature worship, is concentrated. The way the sacred fire is passed one after another is also a solemn highlight.

The Ancient Custom of Forbidding Women The Oto Festival is one of the few festivals nationwide that continues to observe the prohibition of women. The ancient custom of limiting participants to men speaks to the strictness of a rite that handles the fire of the gods and to the weight of a tradition handed down for more than 1,400 years. This very etiquette, preserved across the ages, heightens the distinctive tension and mystery the festival possesses.

The Unity of White Garments The noboriko facing the festival all climb the mountain in the unified figure of white garments bound with rough rope. In the darkness of night, the sight of the white-clad men gathering one after another at the summit is magnificent, and together with the tense air of waiting for the gate to open, it quietly heightens the exaltation of the festival. The vivid contrast of white and the red of the flames is also striking.

The Fire that Calls Spring to Kumano The Oto Festival is cherished as a festival announcing the arrival of spring in the harsh winter of Kumano. The flames that blaze up as if to scorch the cold night air of February symbolize hope for a new season and the prayers of people for a safe year. For the region, this fire festival is an important turning point that announces the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

Access and Information

• Location: Shingu City, Wakayama Prefecture
• Venue: Kamikura Shrine (an auxiliary shrine of Kumano Hayatama Taisha)
• Dates: The night of February 6 each year
• Participants: About two thousand white-clad noboriko (women are not permitted)
• Main content: Dashing down a stairway of five hundred and thirty-eight steps from the summit of Mount Kamikura holding torches
• Organizer and inquiries: Kumano Hayatama Taisha and Kamikura Shrine

Around the Area

Kamikura Shrine, the setting of the festival, takes as its object of worship a huge rock called Gotobiki-iwa and is enshrined at the top of a steep stone stairway, a sacred site that may be called the very origin of Kumano faith. Even outside the festival day, from the mountaintop one can command a view of the urban area of Shingu and the sea, and can feel with one's own skin the air of primal rock worship. It is a special place deeply connected with the World Heritage Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.

Kumano Hayatama Taisha, the main shrine to which Kamikura Shrine belongs, is one of the shrines of the Kumano Sanzan with beautiful vermilion-lacquered halls, and each October the grand annual festival, the Kumano Hayatama Festival, is held with the Kumano River as its stage. Visiting it together with the Oto Festival allows one to savor the connection between the two shrines at the heart of Kumano faith and the depth of their festival culture.

The Kumano region, including Shingu City, is home to many World Heritage attractions, such as the other two shrines of the Kumano Sanzan, Kumano Hongu Taisha and Kumano Nachi Taisha, and the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage routes. Visiting Kumano in the season of the Oto Festival, one can touch the profound world woven by the nature and faith of the sacred land of Kumano, together with a stunning fire festival that scorches a winter night.

Related Information

• Month: February (winter)
• Prefecture and region: Shingu City, Wakayama Prefecture, Kii Peninsula (Kumano region)
• Shrine: Kamikura Shrine (an auxiliary shrine of Kumano Hayatama Taisha, with Gotobiki-iwa as its object of worship)
• Features: A fire festival forbidding women, rare even nationwide, said to have continued for more than 1,400 years
• Cultural property designation: Designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of the nation in 2016

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