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Shinto fire festival in Japan

Presenter Reverend Peter Owen-Jones observes a Shinto Oto Matsuri fire festival in Shingu, Japan. He talks with some of the participants as they cleanse themselves in the cold waters of the sea, as they prepare their torches adorned with personal wishes and prayers, and as they walk up to a shrine on a sacred rock above the city. The torches are lit, the smoke ascends to the gods, and the mass of participants are released to rush down the steep steps in a chaotic ritual reflecting the recreation of the world out of chaos.

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4 minutes