Honshu’s Southernmost Fire Festival (Wakayama Prefecture)

This annual controlled grass-burning event is held each January on Boro-no-Shiba, an expansive lawn at Cape Shionomisaki in Kushimoto Town, Wakayama Prefecture. Approximately 25 acres of grass are burned to eliminate pests hiding in the dry grass and encourage new growth in spring. Once conducted during the day, the grass burning became a tourism event known as Honshu’s Southernmost Fire Festival in 2001.

Local products are sold at the venue starting during the day, along with servings of Shora-san Nabe, a local hot pot containing flying fish balls, and sales of sweet potato rice cakes. The annual program also includes performances by groups dedicated to preserving the Kushimoto-bushi and Shionomisaki-bushi folk songs, appearances by the Kushimoto Turkish Cultural Association, and a rice cake toss, giving visitors a chance to experience local food and culture before the grass burning begins.

After the evening ceremony, members of a local high school archery club and others perform a ceremonial flaming-arrow shooting, igniting the lawn as fireworks light up the sky. The flames spread across the expansive grassland, creating bands of fire against the darkening landscape of Cape Shionomisaki. Because the grass burning is affected by weather and wind conditions, the event date and program are subject to change.