Purification, Flames, and a Frenzy of Men

On the night of February 6 each year, upwards of 2,000 men brave the cold of winter to perform the Otō Matsuri, a wild rite of purification and renewal—by fire—designed to supplicate the mountain god(s) and pave the way for an auspicious year. In principle, the men have followed a strict code of abstinence for a week leading up to the event: performing daily water ablutions and bathing (naked) in the ocean; consuming only white-colored foods such as tofu, polished rice, and white fish cakes; and swearing off all contact with women. Today, the purification protocol extends for some only to the day of the event. Their minds and bodies pure, the “nobori-ko” (lit. “ascending children”), as they are called, don white clothing (robe, hood, headband), wrap straw ropes around their chest (7, 5, or 3 times, depending), and strap on straw sandals. Completing the get-up is a hand-held torch made of cypress wood, carved in the shape of a five-sided pyramid and stuffed with wood shavings.

The “ascending children” first walk around and offer prayers at three sea-level worship sites (Asuka Shrine, Kumano Hayatama Taisha, and Myoshinjii temple). Sake and beer flows, white snacks flow, and the excitement builds. Then, as night falls, they climb the more than 500 ancient stone-hewn steps up Mt. Gongen to reach Kamikura Shrine and its massive boulder, “Gotobiki Iwa.” This giant monolith is like the most sacred of all rocks ever :-) The rock itself is worshipped as a god. It is also worshipped as the landing place for gods who descended from the heavenly plain. It is also worshipped as the abode of the all-important sun goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami, whose lineage today’s royal family purportedly continues. And it is also worshipped as the abode of Takakuraji no mikoto, a local man who aided the sun goddess and the other top-ranking gods of the heavenly plain in subduing the local gods of Kumano and was subsequently deified himself. This site (=the rock) is the original location of Kumano Hayatama Taisha, one of the three main shrines in Kumano, but the shrine was relocated to a more accessible location on the mouth of the Kumano River. But I digress. It is February 6, the sun has just set, and a throng of “pure” white-robed men and boys (babies even, I hear) huddles around the sacred rock within the shrine grounds, torches in hand. Joining them are shine priests, mountain ascetics (Shugenja), and men called “kaishaku” (“suicide assistants”!!). The kaishaku wear protective gear and are armed with bamboo poles, ready to wrangle the group and protect the massive crowd of men who gather all along the steps. The “ascending children” jockey for position at the shrine gate like a pack of wild animals raring to be released. If you've ever been to a rodeo, you know exactly what I mean. Torches lit, prayers offered, and conch shells blown, the shrine gate opens and everyone races down the steps in a violent cascade of bodies and flames said to resemble a fire-breathing dragon (a local folk song describes the scene as such).

This truly wild rite is said to trace back to the legendary first sovereign of Japan, Jimmu, who eighth-century texts describe as the great-grandson of the sun goddess who ruled around the seventh century BC. The boulder and Kamikura Shrine are included within the “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range” UNESCO World Heritage Site (designated 2004), as is the larger shrine below (Kumano Hayatama Taisha). The ritual was nationally designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 2016.

Any man, including a visiting tourist, is welcome to participate or observe today. But women are completely banned from the shrine on this day and from the event. Why? The two most commonly offered reasons include: (1) it is dangerous; and (2) it has always been this way. A third explanation is based on the “natural” gender division between men and women (what about non-binary individuals??): women send the “ascending children” off into the night to sequester themselves and pray; men mingle with the gods and bring the sacred flame back to the home and light the hearth; then women prepare a celebratory meal called “sakamukae” さかむかえ (note that saka can refer to both a physical slope or a mental/metaphysical state).

I’m leaving out many details, obviously. Victor Turner's wonderful write-up is now available here thanks to Paul Swanson! https://www.academia.edu/41969400/Victor_Turner_on_The_Kannokura_Festival_at_Shingu_The_Symbolism_of_Sun_Fire_and_Light

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