Shujo Onie Fire Ritual in Bungotakada

The image depicts a Shujo Onie ritual scene in a dimly lit wooden hall. In the foreground, two figures in Oni costumes—one clad in a black grid-patterned garment and the other in red—crouch in dynamic stances, wielding long, flaming bamboo torches. Their heads are adorned with wild, leafy foliage. In the background, a dense crowd of spectators sits on the floor, many holding cameras or smartphones to record the event. The atmosphere is dominated by the bright, chaotic flicker of the fire set against the dark, rustic wooden architecture of the temple interior.

The Shujo Onie is a traditional fire festival practiced at Tendai-sect temples in the Kunisaki Peninsula, specifically at Tenen-ji and Iwato-ji. The ritual involves practitioners masquerading as Oni (demons) who embody the duality of destruction and protection, believed to exorcise evil and ensure a bountiful harvest through the purification of fire.