Men holding torches wade through the cold Yakkan River in Usa, Oita Prefecture, on Jan. 4, 2022. (Mainichi/Katsuyuki Miyamoto)=Click/tap photo for more images.

       USA, Oita -- Sparks flew in this southwestern Japan city on Jan. 4 as men wearing loincloths battled each other with 2-meter-long bamboo torches after crossing an icy river during the annual Takasu Kannon Onie festival.

       The festival, which is held with prayers for no sickness and disasters and for good crops, is said to have begun in the Usa region to save people from epidemics and starvation, and has continued for some 1,300 years. It was suspended last year due to the coronavirus.

       On Jan. 4, a total of 39 men aged between 19 and 69, hailing from the local area and from prefectures as far away as Ibaraki and Saitama in eastern Japan, took part. Holding torches, they set out from the Takasusan Kannon-ji temple and crossed the Yakkan River as the icy water reached up to their chests. After visiting the Takasu Kannon-do temple on the other side, they lit a bonfire of bamboo stacked some 10 meters high.

       Sparks fly as torches clash during the Takasu Kannon Onie festival in Usa, Oita Prefecture, on Jan. 4, 2022. (Mainichi/Katsuyuki Miyamoto)=Click/tap photo for more images.

       The participants were then divided into teams of "red ogres" and "blue ogres," and they rushed into a battle to "ward off evil spirits" striking their burning torches against each other and sending sparks flying. Being showered with the sparks is said to bring divine benefits, and the spectacle enthralled onlookers as they prayed for health for the coming year.

       Hiroyuki Sato, 61, a farmer from Usa, was participating in the festival for the 45th time. "I was able to pray that my first grandchild born in 2020 would be free from sickness and disasters," he said.

       At the Takasu Kannon Jigendo hall on Jan. 10, a "sennichi mairi" event will be held from 8 a.m. "Sennichi mairi" means to go to pray at a temple or shrine for a thousand days in succession, and it is said that people who visit the shrine on this day receive the equivalent divine benefit of going for 1,000 days.

       (Japanese original by Katsuyuki Miyamoto, Usa Local Bureau)

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