A Japanese festival of fire and ghosts

As the sun shone from the cloudy sky in Kyoto, Japan, monks wearing vests trimmed with pompoms and the black box-like headdresses known as tokin were questioned in front of the monks. Mibu Dera, one of the oldest temples in the city. These were the Yamabushi (mountain hermits), part of a Buddhist sect known as the Shugendo.

To enter the sacred precincts of the temple, each monk had to prove he was a true Yamabushi by answering a series of questions about the sect’s beliefs, clothing and tools. Only those with satisfactory answers would be granted entry.

A trio of children in light-colored jackets watched them, with six curious eyes trying to figure out what was going on, along with me, a Korean-American photographer with two big eyes filled with the same curiosity.

They were preparing for the Goma Fire Ritual, as part of the Setsubun Matsuri or Setsubun Festival, held on the day before the beginning of spring, according to the Asian lunar calendar. For centuries, the Japanese have used the changing of the seasons to exorcise past misfortunes and offer prayers for future security and prosperity. In Kyoto, Setsubun festivals are held in many of the city’s temples and draw crowds of thousands who celebrate a variety of rituals to bring good luck and ward off evil spirits.

The children and I soon followed the monks to the grounds of Mibu Temple, where a pile of hinoki, or cypress leaves, lay ready for the main hall for the Goma fire ritual.

The monks started the ritual with loud drumming, blowing the giant Horagai shell and chanting, while lighting a fire to burn the hinoki leaves and gomagi, wooden sticks symbolizing human desires (the root of suffering) that had been added to the pile. The fire is said to ward off evil spirits in the coming year. A huge cloud of smoke rose in front of the main hall and the nearby Thousand Body Stupa, which contains exactly one thousand statues of Amida Nyorai, or the Buddha of Boundless Light, and Jizo, a bodhisattva known for his compassion.

Busy young monks poured buckets of water around the pyre as the deafening drums resounded and the roaring fire engulfed everyone’s bad luck.

While the senior monks sang and prayed, the unruly orange fire was kept under control with the help of the sweating junior monks who poured buckets of water around its edge.

At the Yoshida Jinja or Yoshida ShrineThe highlight of the day was the Tsuina-shiki ceremony, when a devil god named Hososhi, from ancient China, with four golden eyes and a horn, wielded a huge spear and shield and let out blood-curdling wails as he rode away red. blue and yellow oni, a type of demon in Japanese folklore. Children in white robes held flaming torches to ignite the action. Around them, firefighters were busy extinguishing embers falling from the torches.

For Setsubun, people also scatter soybeans, which are said to drive away evil spirits, in a ritual called Mame Maki, often while shouting, “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” (“Devils out! Good luck in!”). People also throw ancient good luck amulets onto a giant bonfire in a ceremony known as Karo-sai.

Among the crowds that had already lined up at the Yoshida Shrine three hours before the Tsuina-shiki ceremony, one of the youngest was Miu Imamura, 4, from Kyoto, who wore a homemade oni mask pressed onto her forehead , as she and her sister stood in line with their mother, Yuina Imamura, to buy lucky beans known as fuku-mame. In Setsubun, children traditionally make and wear oni masks, although this tradition seemed to be dying out. ‘

Prayers for the New Year are also part of the day. In Mibu, Kyoto native Yasuko Isoda prayed for the safety of her family and for the people affected by the Noto earthquake. Mrs. Imamura, the mother of the girl with the oni mask, prayed for the health of her family and for no disasters for everyone in 2024.

After the Tsuina-shiki, people began lining up for the chance to receive hamaya, or sacred arrows, from a miko, or shrine maiden, who danced while carrying arrows in one hand and a bell in the other . Many of the arrows were later placed on a bonfire to be burned for good luck.

Yoshida Shrine’s Setsubun Festival is one of the largest in Kyoto and there are more than 800 food stalls at the entrance and throughout the festival. During the festival, visitors endlessly brought their own amulets to be burned and volunteers piled the amulets into a giant tower for the Karo-sai ceremony. At 11:00 PM on the night of Setsubun, the Shinshoku or Shinto priests lit the amulet-filled tower on both sides with their torches and released the amulets and the gods within and returned home.

The bonfire raged, consuming the amulets and sacred arrows, seemingly granting the wishes of those who brought them to light the fire, and ushering in the Year of the Blue Dragon, with a grand finale.