Oniyo in Kurume city.

Every year on January 7th the Daizenji precinct of Kurume City is engulfed in a controlled conflagration that is the Oniyo Fire Festival. The residents gather amidst a cascade of sparks, flames and fireworks at Tamatare Shrine to watch the Shinto priest and the men of the town exorcise the evil spirits and bestow luck, fertility and prosperity on the inhabitants. In a tradition that dates back 1900 years, the six neighborhoods surrounding the shrine construct huge torches and parade them between the holy waters of the Arai river and the shrine in order to chase the devil from the town.

ACCESS

By JR, get off at Kurume Station and take Nishitetsu bus no.15 to Miyamae.
By Nishitetsu train, get off at Daizanji Station and 5min walk.