Wed
Oct 22nd
<p>At the shrine, torches are lined up to welcome an older man to perform the next rituals&nbsp;</p>
At the shrine, torches are lined up to welcome an older man to perform the next rituals  (Photo: Kenny King Hin Choi)

Fire Festival of Kurama Temple 2025

With fire comes prosperity

Kenny King Hin Choi   - 1 min read
Venue : Yuki Shrine When : Wednesday - Oct 22nd 2025, 6:00pm ~

On the evening of October 22nd each year, the whole of Kurama town is lit up by torch fire. The annual fire festival is one of the three biggest festivals in Kyoto, and draws thousands of visitors to watch the parade and the religious ceremonies. The festival starts at 6:00pm, just after sunset.

Participants dressed in traditional clothes light up the pine torches and carry them on their shoulders through the village, yelling in Japanese “festival, good festival!" Children carry smaller torches, while adults carry torches up to three meters long. A saying goes that the torch fire is used to guide spirits from hell through the human realm.

Kenny King Hin Choi

Kenny King Hin Choi @kenny.king.hin.choi

I had spend almost the last 10 years traveling to different corners of the world seldom reached by others as tourists. Iraq, Kosovo, Albania, Bangladesh and Ukraine are among many others. To see and smell a place first handedly is absoulutely differnt from reading and hearing from mass media. Jap...