WELCOME TO WAKAYAMA!: Fire Festival and Family – Dig More Japan
Shingu Wankayama’s yearly Oto festival has been held for over 1,400 years. Men in white with sacred torches run down a steep mountain path. The act is our prayer for peace. [Applause] It’s held at Kamikura Shrine, a world heritage site. Okazaki Kaname and his grandson Shingen climbed the 538 stone steps to the top. This is Shingen’s first year taking part in the festival, and they’re climbing to practice. [Music] The day of the festival. [Music] It’s 7:30 in the evening. The divine fire has arrived. [Music] [Applause] All at once they run down the stone steps. [Music] The first to arrive are greeted at the foot of the mountain. But Shingen is afraid of the fire. Still at the top with his grandfather. Just as he’s about to give up. [Music] They’re among the last to arrive. [Music]
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A tradition is passed on to the next generation as a man guides his grandson down the steep steps of a local shrine during a fire festival.