#121. Fire Festival 野沢温泉道祖神祭り

こんにちは。 ジェニのピカピカ日本語へようこそ。 Today, I would like to introduce you to the Fire Festival in Japan. At the root of the fire festival is an inexplicable reverence for fire, which is the driving force behind the festival. The fire festival is usually held at night, and the fire has many meanings, such as lighting and heating the festival site, inviting the gods, representing the gods themselves, and even burning everything down to purify it. Today I would like to introduce the Nozawa Onsen Dosojin Festival.野沢温泉道祖神祭り It is said to be one of the three major fire festivals in Japan, and is held from January 13 to 15 every year. Every year on the night of January 15, to pray for a good harvest, to ward off bad luck, and to pray for the growth of the first child, men in bad luck years stay up all night on January 14 to assemble the shrine building and dedicate the "first lantern" in the house where the first child was born.

 The famous Omizutori お水取り Festival at Todaiji Temple 東大寺 in Nara 奈良 is also one of the most famous fire festivals. How about visiting a fire festival when you come to Japan? じゃあまたね。