Kyoto Festival: Fire Festival at Fushimi Inari Taisha (Ōhitakisai)

In early December, Fushimi Inari Taisha holds a harvest festival called the Oogitaki-sai. It is said that the deity Inari oversees rice cultivation, so this festival is held to call him back from the fields to rest for the winter. As a show of respect, priests supper up a variety of food and drink for Inari to enjoy, donated by businesses and private citizens. The head priest reads aloud a Norito prayer and leads the parishioners in their devotions. Shrine maidens perform a sacred Kagura dance to entertain the enshrined deity. Once the initial ritual concludes, the priests make their way to a nearby clearing where bonfires have been prepared. These Hitakikushi, or prayer sticks, were written by parishioners and visitors at Inari shrines all over Japan. The three bonfires are lit simultaneously by selected priests. Burning the prayer sticks is thought to allow the wishes to ascend to the heavens along with the smoke and flames. Once the smoke clears, the priests begin throwing more prayer sticks into the fires as others chant the purification prayer. The day's prayers contain requests for the assembled worshippers' health and good fortune, as well as the country's prosperity. Copies of the prayer are available to those who would like to participate in the chants. A senior priest conducts cleansing rituals at each fire using salt, water, and sakaki leaves. The shrine maidens also perform Kagura dances before the fires to entertain the gods and crowd. Prayer stick burnings are more common in Buddhism, but Fushimi Inari Taisha is known to have historical ties to the Shingon sect. Once all of the prayer sticks have been consigned to the pyre, the priests finish up their prayers and bring the fire ritual to an end.