Today was a national holiday for the foundation of Japan. We decided to go to the Oni Oi festival which is held on Masui mountain. First we had to hike up the mountain which took about 45 minutes, it was hard in some parts! When we got to the top it was just in time to see the shakuhachi players. We then found Taube's teacher who was working in the food area and she organised lunch for us! Then we managed to squeeze our way into the shrine to see the Oni (devil) dance. The idea of this festival is similar to Setsubun where it is for good luck for the new year and to keep the devil out of your house. We were in darkness but could see the devils as they were carrying burning torches and then were lit up with millions of camera flashes! There were cute little kids with devil masks too that paraded through the shrine too. We then went outside to catch mochi (rice cakes) for good health and to see monks firing arrows and creating a huge bonfire. Once the fire had burnt out the logs were then arranged into a line to walk on! I decided to give this a miss and be official photographer instead! Apparently they weren't hot though! It was a great day and it was very interesting to experience a new festival.
The hike up to the shrine, seeing the first signs of spring!
Shakuhachi players outside the shrine
All of us that hiked up the hill to the shrine!
Kids with devil masks walking around before going into the shrine
Devils dancing in the shrine
Devils lit up by about a million camera flashes!
Me and the monks!
Catching mochi craziness!
Devils outside the shrine
Cute devil boys
The monk firing arrows
Lighting the fire
The crazy fire!
Logs laid out to walk on!
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