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.
