Held every year on February 6th, the Oto Matsuri takes place at Kamikura Shrine in Wakayama's Shingu City, part of the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Sacred Sites of the Kii Mountain Range. With a history stretching back more than 1,400 years, it is one of Japan's oldest Shinto fire festivals and remains closely tied to traditional purification rites and prayers for a good harvest.
The centerpiece of the event is a steep stone staircase built into the mountainside behind the shrine. As evening falls, a sacred fire is lit at the top, and around 2,000 men dressed in white robes use it to light their torches. Once all are ready, they descend the 538 stone steps in one continuous run. The movement of so many flames in the darkness creates a striking visual effect that has long been compared in local folk songs to a dragon descending the mountain.
The festival is not simply a public performance. It is a religious ritual, and many of its rules have remained unchanged for centuries. One of the most notable is that women are not permitted to enter the mountain area on the day of the festival, in keeping with the shrine's traditional practices. While the event draws large crowds, it remains closely connected to the local community and its spiritual roots.
