🏮 Tondo
とんど
Iwami, Tottori · Every year on 15 January
Official site →123 days to go
Rooms around Iwami, Tottori fill up while the festival is on.
Tondo is a traditional New Year's event held every January in Iwami, Tottori Prefecture, around the time of koshogatsu (the small New Year). Originally also called dondoyaki, it takes place at local Shrines and open spaces. In this fire festival, New Year decorations such as kadomatsu (pine decorations), shimenawa (sacred straw ropes), and kakizome (first calligraphy of the year) are piled up and burned, and people pray for good health and a bountiful harvest through the flames. In particular, it is believed that scattering the leftover ashes around one's home serves as a charm against evil as "tondo no hai" (tondo ashes), and many residents take part. The highlight is the sight of fire being set to a tall, stacked wooden tower, with flames rising into the night sky. It is also said that the stronger the fire, the better the year's fortune, and cheers go up along with the sound of bursting bamboo. Toward the end, it remains a custom to eat roasted mochi and dango and pray for a healthy year.
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