🏮 Chinkasai

鎮火祭

Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima (Itsukushima Shrine) · Every year on 31 December

108 days to go
Rooms around Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima fill up while the festival is on.

At Itsukushima Shrine in Hatsukaichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, the Chinka-sai (Fire-Subduing Festival) is held every year on December 31. It is a fire festival that continues the tradition of the Misoka Yamabushi (mountain ascetics of New Year's Eve) from the early modern period, and is characterized by the lighting of torches with sacred fire from Itsukushima Shrine. This festival inherits the tradition that yamabushi practiced on the last day of the year in the early modern period. Torches are lit with sacred fire, and the ancient form of prayer is still preserved today. Within the shrine grounds, more than a hundred torches of various sizes are lined up, and the entire approach at Mikasa-no-hama turns into a sea of fire. The powerful sight of sparks flying right beside worshippers is a highlight that colors the year-end night.

Getting there

5 minutes on foot from JR Miyajimaguchi Station, or 1 minute on foot from Hiroden Miyajimaguchi. 10 minutes by boat from Miyajimaguchi Pier, then 15 minutes on foot from Miyajima Pier.