Nozawa Onsen Dōsojin Fire Festival

Origin

Dōsojin is a folk deity who guards the edges of villages and the crossroads against misfortune and evil spirits, and watches over the growth and birth of children. Midwinter fire festivals for Dōsojin are found across the north of Nagano, but Nozawa Onsen’s is known for its sheer scale. According to the Japan Tourism Agency it has been held every year on 15 January since 1863, and it is counted among Japan’s three great fire festivals. It was designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in December 1993, and is kept by the Nozawa-gumi, the village’s own community association. The work begins the autumn before: in October, five beech trees are felled in the village’s common forest to form the core of the shrine.

What to look for

On the 13th, two groups of men at the unlucky ages of 42 and 25 spend more than three hours hauling two of the sacred trees down from the ski slopes to the festival ground. On the 14th they build the shrine late into the night, off the drink until it is done, and it is finished on the morning of the 15th: about seven metres tall, with the sacred trees rising ten metres or more above it. The night of the 15th is the festival. Representatives of the unlucky ages fetch fire struck from flint at the Kōno family’s house by the Terayu bathhouse, and families who have had a first son carry in their hatsu-dōrō, tall decorated lantern poles, singing as they come. At around 8:30 p.m. the village men who are not at an unlucky age charge the shrine with torches, and the men at their unlucky age fight them off as fire-quenchers — the 42-year-olds from the top of the shrine, the 25-year-olds from below. When the battle ends there is a ceremonial clap, the shrine is set alight, and it burns high into the night together with the lanterns.

How to watch

According to the Nozawa-gumi, this is a religious festival of the local people: only villagers take part in the lighting, and visitors watch. Bottles, cans and alcohol of any kind may not be brought to the site, and flying drones near the site is prohibited by law.

If you go

Since 2023 entry to the festival ground has been by ticket only, and tickets go only to villagers and to guests staying in the village (arranged through your lodging). According to the tourism association, the ground is too small to admit more spectators safely. Each year’s arrangements are announced from the preceding autumn. If you want to see it, book a room in the village first. All roads in the village are no-parking zones during the festival. The hauling of the sacred trees on the afternoon of the 13th can be watched from along the route.

Where

Nozawa Onsen village, the Dōsojin festival ground

Nozawa Onsen, Nagano

Sources

• Nozawa Onsen Tourism Association, the Dōsojin Fire Festival (schedule, admission and rules)
• Nozawa Onsen Tourism Association, notice for the 2025 festival (ticketed entry since 2023)
• Nozawa Onsen Tourism Association, admission restrictions for the 2026 festival
• Cultural Heritage Online (Agency for Cultural Affairs), Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property entry (held every 15 January)
• Japan Tourism Agency, multilingual description of the festival (held on 15 January since 1863)
• Japan Tourism Agency, multilingual description of the festival’s organisation