Sendai Osaki Hachimangu Shrine January 14, 19:10
The "Donto Festival" was held at Osaki Hachimangu in Sendai, Japan, in hopes of sickness and harmlessness and the safety of the house by burning New Year decorations and other events.
"Donto Matsuri" is a traditional event of the New Year's Day. In the event of burning a New Year's decoration, it is a wish for one year's sickness and safety in the home.
The Osaki Hachimangu Shrine Don Festival in Aoba Ward, Sendai City is called the Matsumatsuri Festival, and has a history of more than 300 years.
Many people were busy on the 14th, and New Year's decorations such as kadomatsu, shimeji rope, and daruma brought from home were piled up to a height of about 4 meters in the precinct square.
Around 4 pm, when the ritual was held and the fire was lit, it burned vigorously, and the worshipers around were holding hands and taking pictures.
In addition, the annual “naked wreath” was held in which men and women in white outfits wore bells and lanterns around the fire with bells and lanterns. A woman in her thirties who visited with her daughter and relatives said, "I prayed for a good school life because my daughter entered elementary school."
A woman in her 60s, who has been visiting every year for over 20 years, said, "I asked my elderly mother to live a healthy long life.