Kyoto's Matsuage Fire Festival: The Ultimate Local's Guide

1. What is the Matsu-age Fire Festival?

Matsuage is a fire festival held on August 24th, at the end of summer in the northern mountains of Kyoto, Japan. It is also the best Japanese festival you've likely never heard of. Although there are plenty of festivals to see in Kyoto during summer, the Matsuage Festival, in the mountains of Hanase (a country town in Kyoto), is a hidden gem!

It would be best to drive up and stay the night. The bus from Hanase to Kyoto only runs twice times a day. And even if you have a car, I would not recommend driving back to Kyoto at night. Some of the roads between Kyoto and Hanase are very narrow and part of the route runs along the side of steep a mountain.

2. Hanase: A Sleepy Little Village

You have probably never heard about the village of Hanase. It is hidden in the mountains north of Kyoto-city. In fact, if you ask Kyoto locals about the sleepy rural village, you’ll probably discover that most people don’t know about it. For me, it is a special place because it is where my mother’s family come from. Hanase is a beautiful mountain village that is cool in the summer and buried in snow in the winter.

3. Preparing For Matsuage Festival in Hanase

The festival is all about the "Matsu-age" ritual, which basically means, "lifting the pine tree." The centerpiece of the festival is a tall bamboo pole, measuring 20-meters, with a large wooden basket sitting on its peak.

It stands in the middle of a large field and is surrounded by a sprawl of lit torches standing about 1.5 meters. This initiates the Matsuage Festival mood! Participants gather around the pole and raise it into an upright position. We believe that this act invites the blessings of the god and ensure a strong harvest (remember this is a farming area) and good fortune for the community.

4. Matsuage Fire Festival: The Event

The Matsuage Festival begins after dark. There are very few streetlights in the area. As the music grows, down the street, in the distance, you can see the glow of fire-lit torches slowly moving in a procession of local volunteers. This moment is very atmospheric due to all participants being dressed in traditional festival clothing and the sound of slow beating taiko (drums) and strumming koto (a traditional string instrument) echoing through the hills.

The main event of Matsuage is now ready to begin. Made up of an all-male group of villagers, they gather around the bamboo pole and begin to set light to a ball tied to the end of a rope, which is then spun around at great speed and thrown into the air toward a huge basket sitting on top of the bamboo pole.

Ball after fiery ball is thrown through the air, many at one time, to catch fire to the towering basket and burn it, thus cleansing Hanase of their worries. It is quite an amazing sight! Once the basket is raging fire, they lower the bamboo pole, and put out the fire, which marks the end of the festival.

5. Matsuage Festival is Held During Obon Holiday

Matsu-age is held during the Obon holidays, which is on the first weekend of October, and marks the transition from summer to autumn. The national holiday of 'Obon' is a time to honor family. Therefore, many who return to the family home in Hanase take advantage of this time to watch the Matsuage Festival. The festival draws huge crowds of people, all wanting to experience a unique cultural event that is an impress sight.

6. The History of the Matsuage Fire Festival

To understand why the spectacular Matsuage Festival exists, first you need to understand Hanse’s past. Japan’s mountains have long been a place of religious worship. Firstly, there is the 850-year-old Bujo-ji Temple, which sits on the edge of a cliff overlooking the mountians. For centuries the temple was an important site of spiritual and physical training for the of a Buddhist sect, known as Tenno. The temple is seen as providing the town with protection, blessings, and prosperity.

7. Worship of Atago Shrine

This brings us to the Atago Shine. The local residents have historically worshiped Mt.Atago as a god of fire and have looked to the shrine, which sits on the mountain, as protection against fire-related disasters. In fact, many of Hanase’s festivals relate to the idea of safeguarding the mountainous area from a disastrous fire. The Matsuage celebration dates back centuries and pays respect to the local god and protector of the area.

8. Preserving Cultural Heritage

I feel that the Matsuage Festival reminds us of the old Kyoto beliefs and Hanase’s religious past. The mountains of Japan were once an important place of isolation for Buddhist monks and Shinto priests. I can take my children and teach them to connect with their family’s past and learn about our local customs.

All the people involved in the festival are locals who want to represent their community, which makes it more important to everyone involved. But most of all, this festival is just cool. Any festival that involves balls of fire flying through the air is just plain cool. If you’re in Kyoto during Obon, get to the northern mountains and check out the Matsuage fire festival. You won’t regret it!

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