Visit Wakayama The Official
Wakayama Travel Guide

A team of roughly 2,000 men (referred to as noboriko) clad in white and sporting straw rope wrapped around their waists light pentagonal shaped torches with sacred fire in prayer for a good harvest and family safety. The view that unfolds as the men charge down from the shrine with torches in hand is as the lyrics of the Shingu-setsu song describe, like a flaming waterfall and winding fiery dragon. The festival is known as one of the most lively fire festivals in Japan. On the day of the festival, women are prohibited from the Kamikura-jinja Shrine grounds, but are able to watch the festivities from the path leading to the shrine.