Sakenotsu Tondou: A New Year Fire Ritual by the Sea

Sakenotsu is a small fishing settlement on the Sea of Japan coast in the Ketaka district of Tottori City. Every winter it holds Tondou, a fire ritual of the Little New Year. Over two days, on the Saturday and Sunday closest to January 15, villagers build a cone shaped structure of straw, bamboo and pine about four metres high on the beach, and at dawn on the second morning they set it alight. The fire sends off the deity welcomed at New Year and carries prayers for a year free of illness and for a good catch at sea. It was designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan on March 7, 2007.

A Cone of Straw Above a Winter Sea

On the first day the community gathers on the sand and assembles the tondou. Raising the conical frame, thatching it with straw and adding the sacred rope and other decorations takes most of the day, all of it in the wind that comes straight off the winter sea.

The finished structure against grey water and pale sand looks unlike the tondo bonfires seen inland. Waves break a few metres away, seabirds call overhead, and the smell of straw mixes with salt. As the light fades, the dark cone stands out sharply against the last of the sky.

Purification and the Dawn Fire

The central figures in this rite are the village children. Boys roughly between the ages of seven and twelve take on duties according to their age. In a practice called koritori they purify themselves in the sea in the depth of winter, then, carrying akamoku seaweed, circle the tondou and go from house to house purifying each home. In the small hours of the second day the children walk the village again to announce that the fire will be lit. At first light the tondou is set alight. Dry straw and bamboo catch immediately, bamboo joints crack like gunshots, and a column of flame burns against a sky that has not yet fully brightened. When the structure collapses into embers, the New Year deity has been seen off.

A Rite Shared Across Generations

Sakenotsu Tondou was designated a national cultural property not merely because the fire is spectacular. What is valued is the way roles are distributed and handed on: adults build the structure, children purify themselves and visit every house, and the wider community supports both. The custodian is the Sakenotsu Tondo Festival Preservation Society. Among Japan's surviving Little New Year fire rituals, few combine a coastal setting with children in the central role.

Tips for Visiting

The fire is lit at dawn on the second day, so you need to be on the beach before first light. On this coast in January the coldest, windiest hour is the one before sunrise: a heavy down jacket, gloves and a warm hat are essential, and waterproof footwear is sensible on wet sand.

This is a working village beach, not an event site, and there is no visitor car park. Do not park on the road or enter private land, and keep well clear of the residents carrying out the ritual. Staying the previous night at nearby Hamamura Onsen shortens the pre dawn journey.

Getting There

The venue is the beach beside Sakenotsu fishing harbour. From Hamamura Station on the JR Sanin Main Line it is about 15 minutes by bus to the Sakenotsu stop, then one minute on foot. From Takaki Station it is about 25 minutes on foot, and from JR Tottori Station about 25 minutes by car along National Route 9. Because the fire takes place at dawn, bus services at that hour are limited, so plan your transport in advance.

Practical Information

• Dates: the Saturday and Sunday closest to January 15 each year. The structure is built on the first day and burned at dawn on the second
• Venue: the beach around Sakenotsu fishing harbour, Sakenotsu, Ketaka cho, Tottori City
• Access: about 15 minutes by bus from JR Hamamura Station to the Sakenotsu stop, then 1 minute on foot; about 25 minutes on foot from JR Takaki Station; about 25 minutes by car from JR Tottori Station
• Parking: there is no dedicated car park
• Cultural designation: Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan, designated March 7, 2007. Preservation body: Sakenotsu Tondo Festival Preservation Society
• Official website: https://www.torican.jp/festival/detail_1098.html

* Dates, details and prices are subject to change. Please check the official website before you go.

(Sources: Tottori City tourism official website, Agency for Cultural Affairs Cultural Heritage Online, Tottori Prefecture cultural property database)