Akita Winter Festivals -- Hiburi Kamakura (火振りかまくら)



14th Feb 11 aka V-Day - After a quick but satisfying dinner at our favourite onigiri place in Omagari, we got into Shiori's car and headed down to Kakunodate to get some fiery action. Thankfully while it was snowing, the snowfall wasn't too heavy.

The Hiburi Kamakura festival is held annually on the 13th and 14th of Feb. The first day is supposed to be the major event where people will swing bales of burning straw along the riverbank. The same place where you can see the sakura blossoms in April. (Can't wait for this. The photos I've seen so far have been gorgeous.)  On the second day, there will be fire swinging at several sites spread out around the town. Now that I have seen how fun it is, next year I will definitely try to experience the festival on the 13th.

 Despite not having any maps or information on the sites, we managed to find one by following the smoke rising from the carpark. When we got there, the first round of fire swinging had already ended and there was a camera crew from the local TV station waiting to take videos of the next round. In the middle of the area, there was a huge bonfire and at the tents by the side, residents were serving pipping hot tonjiru (pork-based soup) and amazake (a sweet drink which is normally served with a dash of sake).

You can don on a helmet for safety

See how close the fireball is to the man

Looking at people swing fire was pretty astonishing. When we found out that anyone can attempt it, Alex and I decided to give it a try. I also managed to convince my other other gal friends to give it a shot it. Unlike Alex, the gals decided we would go for the "chisai" bales of hay instead of the regular one. The difference being, the smaller version had no hay in the middle. Hence, there is less material to burn and the resulting fireball is less magnificant. While it may look dangerous, it really isn't. (Guess part of me also believed that if I did catch fire, I can easily save myself by jumping into the 1.5m tall snow piles surrounding us.) Just make sure you hold the string further away from yourself and keep swinging once your bale has been lit. Also need to watch out for other fire swingers around you. When your fireball starts to spread along the string, you need to toss the whole thing into the bonfire quickly. I came away from the fire swinging feeling extremely pleased with myself and exhilarated despite smelling of smoke.



The bale catches fire more quickly if you whirl it faster

Tossing it into the bonfire

The warmt from the fire was really pleasant given the falling snow. It's much more comfortable compared to the artifical heat from our kersone heaters. Wish they were giving our mashmallows too, would have loved to snack on some soft gluey mashmallows.



Fire-whirling on V-Day



The streets were lined with these
little lamps made entirely from ice.

What I found shocking and scary was the sights of dads swinging fire around their little kids/ toddlers and even babies. Yup! I saw one dad holding a baby over his shoulder and swinging the fireball around the both of them using his other hand. While it was an amazing sight, I couldn't help wondering why this was allowed. It was sooooo dangerous. According to Shiori, the locals believe that by swinging these fireballs around themselves, they will be blessed with good health and peace within their households. So, the dads are just trying to obtain divine protection for their young ones. Good intentions but still......