A group of men use ladles to throw water over the buildings they pass at Hibuse Matsuri, the Fire Prevention Festival in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture. Temperatures are often below freezing, and bonfires help to keep everyone warm. The event conveys a prayer for the safety of residents and buildings in the coming year. It originated around 1,200 years ago, when bandits set fire to a local shrine. Legend has it that a herd of deer brought waterlogged bamboo grass to put out the flames.
Men throw water over the houses they pass.
Hibuse Matsuri prays for protection from fire.
Even priests are doused with water.
This shrine is famous for a pair of large zelkova trees that are hundreds of years old.
About 1200 years ago, bandits roving this region set fire to the shrine.
Legend has it that deer brought water-logged bamboo grass to put the fire out.
Hibuse Matsuri is
a New Year tradition.
It seeks safety and health
for residents in the coming year.
Houses used to be thatched and naked
flames were our only source of light.
Keeping houses damp to prevent
fires was very important.
Preparations begin at a local restaurant.
Sake plays an essential role in keeping people warm when they're soaking wet in the freezing cold.
The men wear happi coats and tabi socks.
Old hands help new people to get ready.
Local residents make sure that buckets full of water are placed on every corner.
At 5:30 PM, prayers begin at the shrine.
It's the first matsuri in three years to be held at full scale and there's a big crowd of volunteers.
At 6 PM, the priests and men bearing ladles, form a group of a hundred or so, and leave the shrine.
After a prayer for safety on the edge of town, the fire prevention ritual begins with a shout.
The men split into groups and douse every building they pass with water.
"Hibuse!"
There are several bonfires to help keep them warm.
It's relatively mild this year, but temperatures are often below freezing.
So it's also the custom to stop for sake.
Another drink?
They splash water along a two-kilometer route through the district.
The restaurant where the group got ready serves pork broth in an open lot across the way.
The group gives thanks for the food with an enthusiastic splash of water.
This one wants cleansing!
At the southernmost bridge in the district, the group prays for safety.
"Frost columns! Ice verandas! Snow beams!"
Those are things that will never burn!
So there's no point in fire coming here.
More prayers are offered at another local shrine, Akiba-jinja.
After splashing all the buildings with water, the first day of the matsuri draws to a close.
At 5:30 the next morning, prayers resume.
The priests ward off evil spirits by getting "bitten" by a dancing shishi.
As dawn breaks, the priests and shishi head out to a former shrine.
Only a stone marker remains.
This is where the deer are supposed to have put out the shrine fire.
Long ladles line the street.
As the priests return, they are soaked in sacred water - a very unusual ritual.
Local residents call out as they throw the water.
In the old days, this region had really cold winters.
The priests' wet clothing would freeze solid!
This area was hit hard by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The shrine, set away from the coast, was largely spared, but many lives were lost.
A shishi's mouth always opens, but
one with eyes that open is unusual.
It actually represents a huge snake.
We had a pair, male and female,
but one was lost in the tsunami.
It was kept at a shrine
near the sea. Gone now.
There were 6-7 dancers before.
They scattered after the disaster.
I'm barely keeping things going.
But people still gather for the matsuri.
It was even held in the year after the disaster.
It's all old folks here but young
people come for the matsuri.
Every year. Without fail.
They bring energy and boost
the whole neighborhood.
We're all equal in a matsuri.
We all enjoy it together.
That's why matsuri are important.
They matter to the young folks, too.
For 1200 years, this matsuri has conveyed prayers for community safety.
The yearning for protection is as strong as ever.