Walking over fire Ceremony (Hiwatari Shiki)

Place: Daisho-in Temple

From 2017-04-15 to 2017-04-15

Tags: Daisho-in Temple, sutra chanting, Buddhism, walking over fire, bow and arrow

The "Hiwatari-shiki" is sponsored by the Daisho-in Temple and takes place twice a year on April and November 15th. This is a religious rite performed by the Shingon Sect of Buddhism.

The ceremony begins at 11:00a.m. with a purification offering to the alter, and chanting of Buddhist sutras.
This is followed by two Buddhist monks circling the area with swords and then shooting 7 arrows into the air which the worshippers struggle to retrieve.

Lastly, while mountain priests blow their conch shells the arrangement of cypress branches is ignited.

After the fire burns down and only red coals remain, the head Buddhist monk, followed by the mountain monks and worshippers, walk barefoot across the coals chanting a prayer for good health and fortune.