Explore everyday life in Japan
Beginning a new year in Japan is not something that is taken lightly. It involves many traditional activities and ceremonies, one of which is known as a Firemen's Dezomeshiki.
A Firemen's Dezomeshiki is a ceremony that is performed at the beginning of the new year to pray for a year without fires and without disease. This ceremony can take various forms depending on the city in which it takes place, but it generally involves all of the fire trucks and all of the firemen of that city.
This past Sunday in Niigata, a city northwest of Tokyo that sits on the coast of the Sea of Japan, fifty-eight fire trucks and approximately 360 firemen paraded through the city's center to the banks of the Shinano River where they were met by an additional forty-one fire trucks and a firefighting boat.
As is customary of a Dezomeshiki, the fire trucks and the firefighting boat all sprayed water simultaneously for about ten minutes in a ceremonious gesture that will, it is hoped, protect the city from any major fires for another year.
Fires pose a big threat to residential areas in many Japanese cities. Most houses here are built extremely closely together and are made primarily of wood. This means that if one house, building, or restaurant catches on fire, it is likely that many more will follow. As is the case in Itoigawa when, this past Decemeber, a fire started in a ramen shop and quickly spread, consuming 140 buildings before it was finally put out.
This is an ongoing series that will explore various aspects of daily life in Japan. My hope is that this series will not only reveal to its followers, image by image, what Japan looks like, but that it will also inform its followers about unique Japanese items and various cultural and societal practices. If you are interested in getting regular updates about life in Japan, please consider following me at @boxcarblue. If you have any questions about life in Japan, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will do my best to answer all of your questions.