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