Mantobiro in the Ani Region

Festival highlights

One highlight is using flames from oil-soaked cloth to form the names of settlements and words such as “Equinox Day,” “Equinox,” and “Mantobiro.”

In Mikida, in the former town of Aikawa, fires were arranged along rice-field ridges and mountain ridgelines to form the word “Mikida” and a revolving fire-wheel matobi.

In Kozawada, Kamikoani Village, fire-wheel matobi were set between the letters, and the fires were lit after nightfall.

Each settlement has its own arrangements and designs for the fires.

Fire-lit words passed down through the community on a spring equinox night

What to expect

The event begins with each household lighting a fire in front of its family grave, followed by fires lit at the edge of the village and elsewhere.

In Mikida, fires are lit during daytime visits to graves, and matobi are lit at night along rice-field ridges and mountain ridgelines.

In Kozawada, on the day of the spring equinox, iron pipes were assembled, danpo made from rolled cloth was soaked in lamp oil and hung up, and the letters and fire-wheel matobi were arranged before the fires were lit at night.

Children took the lead in preparations, with young adults and parents also helping.

Location and access

Venue and address

The Ani region (an area centered on the former town of Aikawa and Kamikoani Village)

Event venue 秋田県北秋田市,上小阿仁村 阿仁地方の墓前

This map uses the venue name. Check the official guide for the event area and entrances.

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Dates and season

The event has been held every year on the day of the spring equinox.

Fires at graves and matobi at the edges of villages and elsewhere are lit to coincide with that day.

In the Kozawada example, materials were brought to the site by the day before. Assembly and preparations began in the morning on the day of the spring equinox, and the fires were lit at night.

Origins and History of Mantobiro in the Ani Region

Mantobiro in the Ani region is a spring equinox fire observance once held widely throughout the Ani region of Akita Prefecture.

In the past, bundles of straw were lined up and set alight. According to current records, however, the letters and fire-wheel matobi are made using danpo: rags rolled up, tied with wire, and soaked in lamp oil.

Children, generally up to around junior high school age, originally took the lead, but young adults and the children’s parents came to help as well.

Records indicate that it is now rarely held outside the former town of Aikawa and Kamikoani Village.

Official information

The Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Database of Nationally Designated Cultural Properties lists “Mantobiro in the Ani Region” as an intangible folk cultural property for which measures such as documentation should be undertaken.

It is classified under customs and annual events, and a record of its selection is February 21, 2005.

Mantobiro in the Ani Region at a Glance

Mantobiro in the Ani region is an annual local event in which fires are lit in front of graves and at the edges of villages on the day of the spring equinox.

The fires are said to welcome and send off ancestral spirits, and are also associated with warding off fires and divining whether crops will be abundant or poor.

In the region, flames from oil-soaked cloth have been used to form settlement names and words such as “Equinox Day,” and to create fire-wheel matobi.

Once held throughout the Ani region, the event is now passed down in some areas along the Kamikoani River.