Onbashira festival has been held every six years since 1,200 years ago. Japan is a tradition that symbolizes the renewal of Suwa Shinto Shrine is located near the lake of the same name in the Nagano area. "Onbashira" can be literally translated as "sacred pillars" or "pillars Honored Loa."
The pillars of the temple consist of logs of trees that reach 17 meters in length, 1 meter in diameter and up to 12 tons. To move the logs are needed several hundred men, for in no time aid is used animal or plant. The festival is held as 1,200 years ago when he began to take place.
Despite the security measures are increased each year, the celebration is very dangerous. In the last festival (2010) there was a dead man died after falling down and hitting her head during the movement of logs to the ancient temple. Three other men suffered fractures and several dozen of them had to be treated for several bruises. It is not the first time there killed or wounded during the festival. According to organizers, for centuries the deaths were considered honorable, but is now trying to avoid by all means.
It was popularized in the West when they performed at the opening of the Winter Olympics held in Nagano in 1998. However in Japan is quite an event for centuries and can be estimated that to gather one million people coming from all over the country.
The renewal of the pillars of the temple requires a series of stages in which hundreds of devotees are risking their lives.
During the first part of the ceremony was felled tree trunks that can reach one meter in diameter and weigh 12 tons. For this we use axes and saws specially created for the ceremony. the logs are cleaned and cut loops engalados Shinto colors: red and white.
They are then moved down the hill for the young and strong and brave in the prefecture. This second part of the ceremony is called Ki-otoshi, is one of the riskiest parts of the festival, almost every year one or two people die and several broken bones. Once the tree starts to fall down the hill there is no way to stop it, this is the most dangerous moment since the falls are common, fall in front of the trunk is almost a death sentence because the slides at high speed by a maximum slope 40 ° tilt during a descent of about 100 meters.
Once they reached the temple the trees, considered sacred pillars, are placed vertically using only manual force, ropes and cables. Any failure in this process or the breaking of a rope could cause the heavy trunk crush the men who try to hoist it. This part of the ceremony is demoninada "Satobiki."
