Hachiman Torch Festival, Shiga’s biggest fire festival! 🔥 大小松明奉火・令和6年4月14日 (Subtitles Added/英語字幕付き)
Ōmihachiman, Shiga prefecture
We have returned to Ōmihachiman today to experience the Hachiman Festival, Shiga prefecture’s biggest fire festival.
The festival also features huge drums, like the one shown here, which are carried into Himure Hachimangū Shrine in the evening
by teams of men from various districts of Ōmihachiman City.
Since we are here a couple of hours before the main festival events begin, the town is still quiet
Ōmihachiman became renowned as a city of merchants (known as "Ōmi Shōnin"), many of whose houses remain today.
Ōmihachiman has an impressive old town area, which has been designated as a Preservation District.
Tourists can take boat trips along the Hachiman-bori Moat, which runs under part of the Shinto shrine complex
that is the venue for today’s festival.
One can still enjoy the sight of pink cherry blossoms on some trees, although the bloom is past its peak for this year.
The European-style Hakuunkan was built in 1877 as part of a school.
It is now a small information/exhibition centre. Entry is free of charge.
All teams will enter the shrine complex through this gate.
The Hachiman Festival is a 3-day event, of which today is the first part. Today’s events are known as the "Yomiya Festival",
but also as the "torch festival".
The climax of today’s festival is the burning of huge torches, which light up the night sky.
These torches are made by tying together reeds and rapeseed grass, with bamboo at the top.
The largest torches, which have already been erected within the shrine complex, are around 10 m. in length.
Together with the torches that participants bring with them, nearly 200 torches of various sizes and shapes.
will feature in the festival.
This small torch is known as a "children’s torch" (kodomo taimatsu). Such torches are made by children themselves.
To prevent tonight’s fires spreading, fire-fighters hose down trees and nearby buildings with water.
It is 6 pm, and the first team of festival participants is moving towards Himure Hachimangū Shrine.
After moving back and forth a few times, the team enters the shrine’s main Torii gate.
This team has brought its own large torch, which it will erect later this evening.
The atmosphere is enhanced still further by the illumination of lights along the Hachiman-bori Moat.
The next team has just arrived, carrying another huge torch….
…as well as its drum.
Another team has arrived, swaying back and forth, from side to side, before finally making its entrance.
This torch, which is known as a "drag torch" (hikizuri taimatsu) is dragged along the ground.
Smaller torches are being burnt in various parts of the shrine complex.
The task of erecting the large torches requires a lot of strength and patience.
One by one, each team enters the main shrine carrying its drum. However, entering is no simple process.
Finally, after much toing and froing, this team has successfully entered the main shrine.
Before the torch-burning begins in earnest, there is a spectacular firework display.
One of the largest torches has just been lit.
Now the climax: the lighting of the tallest torch!
毎年4月14日（松明祭）、15日（太鼓祭）に行われる日牟禮八幡宮の例祭です。
Scenes from the Hachiman “Torch festival”, the first day of the 3-day Hachiman Festival, held in mid-April every year in Ōmihachiman City, Shiga prefecture. As Shiga prefecture’s largest ‘fire festival’, the festival’s climax is the burning of 10-metre high torches.
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