Onbashira: The Most Dangerous Festival in the World

When it comes to extreme festivals, few have the potential for violence and chaos that the medieval football of Atherstone carries, but if you're thinking of something capable of putting its participants' lives at risk... you need to travel to Japan. Once every six years, following the years of the Monkey and the Tiger, the Onbashira Festival symbolizes the renewal of the four local shrines of Lake Suwa. On one hand, enthusiasts cut giant logs and throw themselves down the slope with them, and on the other, they stand them up while still riding them. Some people didn't make it out alive...

A Tradition Spanning Over a Millennium

The history of Onbashira tells us that the Great Shrine of Suwa was originally divided into two sections: Kamisha is the "Upper Shrine" dedicated to the god Takeminakata, and is composed of the shrines Honmiya and Maemiya, while Shimosha or "Lower Shrine", where the goddess Yasakatome (consort of Takeminakata) is venerated, is formed by Harumiya and Akimiya.

Each of those four shrines is surrounded at its corners by four huge pillars, the onbashira. Over the last 1,200 years, these shrines have faced wars, local disputes and abandonment, but the essential tradition remained intact, and every six years (Monkey and Tiger according to the Chinese calendar), the organizers select sixteen Japanese firs to carry out the renewal of the pillars. That involves two extreme activities...

The Two Rituals: Yamadashi and Satobiki

The cutting, transport and decoration of the logs (which can measure 20 meters and weigh up to 12 tons) is called Yamadashi. The bravest men, determined to prove their worth, throw themselves down the slope riding the logs, under the ceremony of Kiotoshi.

The second half of the festival is known as Satobiki, and here each of the pillars is installed standing (Tatebashira) in its final place. The detail is that during its placement there are still people on the logs, trying not to lose their balance.

Yamadashi usually takes place during the first days of April, while Satobiki arrives a month later and extends until mid-May. Now, how healthy is it to handle 12-ton logs during a festival? I'm afraid not much.

A man lost his life after falling into the void in the 2016 edition. Six years earlier, two men died the same way. In 1992, two other men drowned when one of the logs was being pushed in the river. The festivals of 1986 and 1980 also recorded deaths. In short, Onbashira is now promoted as a tourist attraction, but whoever decides to participate directly risks their skin.

Source: Kuriositas