Yonekawa's Mizukaburi (February 6, 2025)
What is Yonekawa's Mizukaburi? In the Itsuka-machi district of Yonekawa, Towa Town, Tome City, there is an ancient fire prevention event held annually on the first horse day of February. Only men from the district can participate in the event dressed in Mizukaburi attire. The men wrap straw "shimenawa" around their waists and shoulders, wear "atama" and "wakka" on their heads, put on straw sandals, and apply soot from the hearth, a symbol of the fire deity, to their heads. Dressed in this Mizukaburi attire, the men transform into incarnations of the fire deity. After praying at Daijiji's Akibasan Daigongen and the ruins of Suwamori Daijiji, the Mizukaburi group proceeds through the town, shouting loudly, and throws water prepared in front of houses onto the roofs to prevent fires. People take straw from the "shimenawa" worn by the men to use as fire prevention charms in their homes. Separately from the Mizukaburi group, a hyottoko (fire m...