 |
The Fire Festival of Nachi, hot festival in the heat of Summer.
A scant six-hour drive from the industrial city of Osaka, tucked away in the majestic mountains of Wakayama, lies Mount Nachi. Stage of an ancient fire festival that takes places here every July.
Bright vermilion shrines, and falls cascading down a 436 feet cliff, offer a dramatic and authentic background to this exciting ceremony. A ceremony that dates back to the beginning of the Western calendar. It keeps alive what modern city people lost innumerable ages ago; gratitude and respect for all that lives.
According to ancient legend it was the kami (deities) of Nachi who escorted the first emperor of Japan on his military campaign to Central Japan. Emperor Jimnu landed on the coast of Nachi and saw a light shine in the mountains. This turned out to be the majestic falls of Nachi. Jimnu declared the falls sacred and was promptly accompanied on his campaign by Yatagarasu, a crow who carries messages from the kami around Nachi. Naturally the campaign was a great success, and the imperial family never forgot their gratitude.
To this day images of this crow can be found all around the shrine and in the little town at the foot of the mountains. Even the Japanese Soccer League, the J-League, sports a crow in its logo because of its close connections with this area.
In the year 317 the first shrine was built nearby the falls. Until then the falls themselves acted as only place of worship. Almost two millennia later people still worship at the falls, and the fire ceremony is as impressive to us as it was to people many ages ago.
Contact kjduits@ikjeld.com if you would like to carry these photographs.
|
click thumbnail to zoom image