Fire-Walking Training Performed by Mountain Ascetics of Mount Takao Hachioji City – Takao Mountain Fire-Walking Festival
Event Period:Second Sunday of March
Venue:Hachioji City
What is the Takao Mountain Fire-Walking Festival?
The Takao Mountain Fire-Walking Festival is a ritual in which participants pray for world peace, long life and good health, protection from misfortune, traffic safety, and personal well-being through the sacred fire ceremony known as Goma. The ritual invokes the purifying wisdom fire of Izuna Daigongen, the principal deity of Yakuoin Temple.
About the Takao Mountain Fire-Walking Festival
Every year on the second Sunday of March, a large goma altar is constructed at the plaza in front of the Automobile Prayer Hall, about a five-minute walk from Takaosanguchi Station on the Keio Line. The altar is set up with bamboo poles and ritual streamers at its four corners.
Before the fire is lit, powerful ceremonial rites begin with the sound of a conch shell horn.
Entering the training ground symbolizes the union of an ordinary person with the Buddha. The rituals begin with the Ajimon Ceremony at the entrance to the sacred space. This is followed by several traditional practices, including:
· Hoken – a ritual cutting away both external demons and the demons within one’s own mind
· Shinpu – the symbolic act of cutting sacred firewood
· Hokyu Ceremony – shooting arrows in the four directions to protect the ritual ground from evil
After the Ganmon, a formal statement of prayers to the principal deity, is recited, the fire is finally ignited.
The practitioners performing these rites are yamabushi, mountain ascetics of Mount Takao who have undergone rigorous spiritual training.
Spectacular Fire-Walking
As the flames roar, several Bonten Mikoshi, decorated with numerous ritual talismans called bonten-fuda, circle around the fire altar. Nearby, water is heated in a large cauldron, and an ascetic who has spiritually united with the water deity performs Yukaji, a purification ritual in which boiling water is sprinkled with bamboo leaves to cleanse body and mind.
During the ceremony, yamabushi throw wooden prayer sticks called Nadeg i into the flames. These sticks bear the names and ages of participants along with their prayers. People with illnesses are said to benefit by rubbing the affected part of the body with the stick before offering it to the fire.
After the flames subside, the fire-walking ritual begins. Not only the ascetics but also members of the public may participate after them. Walking barefoot across the glowing embers of the fire is a powerful and unforgettable sight.
For details on how to participate, please check the official website of Yakuoin Temple.
| Event Period | Second Sunday of March |
|---|---|
| Season | Second Sunday of March |
| Address | 2390 Takao-machi, Hachioji City, Tokyo (Takao Mountain Automobile Prayer Hall) |
| Website | |
| Access | About a 5-minute walk from Takaosanguchi Station along Koshu Kaido Note: Festival dates may change depending on the year. Please contact the temple for the exact schedule. |
| Discover more about the Tama region | https://at-tama.tokyo/lang_en/ Photos courtesy of Takako Shigegaki |
