Kyoto

Kurama Fire Festival

Exciting night of huge bonfires and flaming torches

Cathy Cawood Jul 12, 2014 - 1 min read

<p>Some of the bigger torches require several men to carry them</p>

<p>The main street was lined with braziers</p>

<p>A youth prepares to hoist one end of a giant torch onto his shoulder</p>

<p>Police kept sightseers to the relative safety of the sidewalk when the torchbearers came past</p>

<p>Two large bonfires lit near a torii</p>

<p>Huge torches roaring into the night sky  </p>

<p>Only men and boys can carry torches</p>

<p>The enormous bonfire took several hours to burn down</p>

<p>The bonfires needed constant supervision</p>

<p>The moon rising over tall evergreen trees that surround Kurama</p>

<p>Queuing for the train back to Kyoto after the festival</p>

When you arrive in Kurama on the night of the fire festival, the streets of the picturesque little town are lined with small watch fires in metal braziers, tended by local people. Three meter tall bonfires blaze merrily in an area with a big stone torii. Torch bearers walk up and down the streets announcing the festival.

There are over 250 pine torches of various sizes, from small ones carried by children to huge ones weighing over 80 kilograms. At 8:00 pm all the torch bearers converge on Kurama's Yuki Jinja. The torches roaring and sparking against the night sky create a truly thrilling spectacle! Kurama Fire Festival takes place on October 22nd.

Cathy Cawood @cathy.cawood

I came to Japan in 2003 to teach English. I lived in Shiga prefecture for 1 year, and it still holds a special place in my heart. I lived in Kyoto for 9 years, then moved to Machida, Tokyo in 2014 after meeting my Japanese partner. I love to take photos, and my Japan in Pictures Facebook page ha...