Nachi Fire Festival - Grand Festival of Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine

The Nachi Fire Festival is an annual grand festival held at Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine in Nachikatsuura Town, Wakayama Prefecture. Officially known as the "Nachi Fan Festival" (Nachi no Ōgi Matsuri), it was designated as a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 2015. The festival takes place at Nachi Falls, one of Japan's most magnificent waterfalls with a 133-meter drop and a component of the UNESCO World Heritage site "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range." This sacred ritual represents the annual "homecoming" of the deities enshrined at Kumano Nachi Taisha to their original sacred site at the waterfall once a year. The festival embodies the essence of Kumano faith deeply rooted in nature worship through powerful symbols: fans representing the sun, the waterfall representing water, and torches representing fire. The spectacular sight of parishioners in white robes ascending and descending the stone steps while carrying large torches and shouting "Hārya, Hārya!" is breathtaking. The climax of the festival is the "Ohi no Gyōji" (Fire Ritual), where the fan-shaped mikoshi are purified with sparks from the torches. The festival also features performances of "Nachi Dengaku," registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, offering a precious opportunity to experience up close the beauty of traditional performing arts that have been preserved in the Kumano region.