Honouring fire

Kumano Nachi Taisha describes the Nachi Fan Festival as an expression of reverence for water and fire — the roots of life — and of gratitude for nature's blessings.

Twelve fan-shaped portable shrines, representing the great waterfall, travel from the main hall to the falls, while twelve great torches purify with fire the path the gods will take. The procession is said to bring purification, renewal and the restoration of order, with prayers for abundance.

The Nachi no Dengaku dance, offered before the procession, is said by tradition to have been brought by dengaku masters from Kyoto in the Ōei era; it was inscribed on UNESCO's list in 2012. The festival as a whole is separately designated a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property as 'Nachi no Ōgi Matsuri'. Knowing exactly what is designated is itself a way into the rite.

The blazing torches hold every gaze. Yet the fire is there not to be seen, but to purify. It is worth remembering that order when visiting a fire festival.