Central Japan · Shizuoka · Hamamatsu
Akiha Fire Festival (Akihasan Hongū Akiha Shrine)
秋葉の火まつり(秋葉山本宮秋葉神社)
The grand festival of Akihasan Hongū Akiha Shrine, head shrine of all the Akiha shrines in Japan, on the summit of Mount Akiha in Tenryū, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. From ten at night on the 16th, three priests perform the three dances of the bow, the sword and fire; last of all, with the lights of the grounds put out, a priest whirls a torch lit from the shrine’s everlasting sacred flame to drive away fire, flood, misfortune and sickness. It is the festival of a god who guards against fire. 15 and 16 December every year.
Next
15–16 December 2026
RegularWorked out from the organiser’s fixed schedule.
42 days away
Every year, 15 December, for 2 days
Future dates: 15 December 2026 · 15 December 2027 · 15 December 2028
Origin
Akihasan Hongū Akiha Shrine enshrines Hinokagutsuchi, the god who presides over fire. Known in ancient times as Kihe-no-Honokami no Yashiro, it was called Akiha Daigongen in the Middle Ages, became Akiha Shrine in the early Meiji period, and took its present name in 1952 as the head shrine of all Akiha shrines. Worshipped across Japan as a god who puts out fires, calms destructive flames and drives away misfortune and sickness, it drew pilgrims, the Akiha dōja, to the summit from every region in the Edo period. In the shrine’s words, purification by fire is the strongest of all, and the fire festival has long been held to pray for escape first from fire, second from flood and third from misfortune and sickness.
What to look for
Three priests each perform a dance whose details are passed down in secret: the bow dance, the sword dance and the fire dance. In the bow dance, the first priest takes a bow and a bell, begins quietly and grows ever wilder, and at the end shoots five arrows to north, south, east and west and up at the ceiling; how they land is said to foretell the harvest of the coming year. In the sword dance, the second priest soothes the spirits of the earth with sword and bell, then brandishes two swords to cut away sin and impurity. In the fire dance, the priest receives a torch lit from the everlasting sacred flame deep in the main hall and whirls it high over his head and low at his feet. During the fire dance the lights of the grounds are turned off, and only the torch flame lights the darkness (2021).
How to watch
The three dances are offered in the kagura hall, and onlookers gather in front of it and watch quietly in a solemn atmosphere (2021); handheld fireworks were offered before the dances. On the same days a separate fire festival with fire-walking is held at Shūyō-ji temple (Akihasan Shūyō-ji) on the mountainside.
If you go
The miare rite is at 2.30 p.m. on 15 December, the grand festival at 1.30 p.m. on the 16th, and the fire festival with the three dances from 10 p.m. The venue is the upper shrine on the summit of Mount Akiha, about 800 metres up, and winter nights there are bitterly cold. There is a special bus to the upper shrine, but its only return run is in the early afternoon (2026), so for the night festival you will need a car. The upper shrine has parking for more than three hundred cars.
Where
Akihasan Hongū Akiha Shrine (upper shrine)
Hamamatsu, Shizuoka
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