Torches burn for good luck

For the first time in four years, the Oto Matsuri Festival, which is known for its Shinto ritual in which men with flaming torches in their hands run down 538 steps to pray for a bountiful harvest and the safety of their families, was held at a shrine in Shingu City, Wakayama Prefecture. About 1,500 people participated in the fire festival, which is said to be 1,400 years old and is registered as an important intangible folk cultural property of Japan.