12th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Culture and the Arts
The Brave Men

This fire festival is held in Tejikara shrine to April every year. The origin of this festival is unknown, but it has a history of over 300 years. In this festival, shirtless men carry a mikoshi (portable shrine) charged with gunpowder in the sparks showering as waterfall. Firing gunpowder of mikoshi, it makes tremendous scene.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 04.2014
Date Uploaded: 11.2014
Photo Location: Gifu Prefecture, Japan
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Copyright: © Hidetoshi Ogata