Blazing Traditions: Fire Festivals in Wakasa

Blazing Traditions: Fire Festivals in Wakasa

Oi is a small coastal town on Wakasa Bay with around 8,000 residents. But for one night in July, August, or September, the population swells to over 50,000 as visitors arrive to experience the Wakasa Ohi Super Ogase.

The highlight of the festival is the spinning of the ogase, a 20-meter wooden structure resembling the halo of a bodhisattva. Seven horizontal wooden poles, each up to 8 meters long, are mounted on a central pillar. The poles are wrapped in cloth and tipped with bundles of dried grass. Weighing about a ton, this massive structure is set on a spindle. When night falls, the grass bundles are lit, and groups take turns spinning the burning structure, accompanied by music and fireworks. The spinning causes flames to soar and embers to scatter, creating a blazing spectacle. After 30 minutes to an hour, when the flames subside, the support cables are released, and the ogase crashes to the ground in a final, dramatic burst of sparks.

Preparation for the Ohi Super Ogase

The Wakasa Ohi Super Ogase is a community-led event that has grown significantly since its inception in 1995. Preparations for the festival begin almost a year in advance, with the harvesting of grasses such as hemp in October. The harvested grass is stored and left to dry until the following summer, when it is bundled around the tips of the ogase poles as kindling for the fire display. Local schools design event posters and create torches, and the community works together to construct the ogase, organize the event, and attract visitors to the festival.

An Action-Packed Evening

The event starts in the afternoon, with live musical performances including taiko drumming and yosakoi dancing, as local and national artists take the stage. Food stalls and markets at the event venue attract visitors with grilled snacks and colorful sweets. Throughout the afternoon, attendees can write messages of encouragement on the ogase in preparation for the evening’s spectacle. As darkness falls, a torchlight procession winds from the center of town to the ogase stage. Participants ignite the grass bundles, then raise and spin the ogase. The event concludes with a final dazzling display of fireworks over the bay.

Roots of the Super Ogase

The Wakasa Ohi Super Ogase traces its origins to the Fukutani Ogase, an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Fukui. This 300-year-old fire festival is held each summer in the village of Fukutani to the east of Oi, to pray for fire protection and bountiful harvests. It is rooted in the Atago Buddhist faith, in which practitioners venerate the deity Atago Gongen as a protector from fire.

Worshippers make a pilgrimage to the head shrine dedicated to Atago Gongen in Kyoto to obtain a purified match to ignite the ogase. Upon return, they light a lantern with the sacred match and lead a torchlit procession to the local Atago Shrine. A 14-meter ogase is erected and lit on the shrine grounds and teams of villagers take turns spinning the burning structure. After two or three spins, the ogase is allowed to fall and then hoisted up to spin again. This is repeated until the fire dies down.