Pop Japan

Beautiful fireworks are not the only man-made things to be observed on a fine January evening in Nara Prefecture. Fire itself can also be beautiful.

The Wakakusa Yamayaki is your annual fire festival every fourth Saturday of January. The festival starts with some events at the foot of the mountain, including a competition of giant sembei or giant rice crackers. A procession of practitioners, each bearing a torch, will then start at the Tobino area towards the mountains. The people will then make a stop at the Mizuya Shrine to get some fire on their torches. Around 17:30, the procession finally arrives at the foot of the mountain. This is when they start "grilling" or doing yaki on the mountain or yama.

Photo by Nagoya Taro. Licensed under Creative Commons. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)

Tags: fireworks, nara prefecture, wakakusa yamayaki, every 4th saturday of january, giant sembei, mizuya shrine, mountain grilling