Atago Shrine fire-watch hut

Festival highlights

Highlights include a straw hut resembling a street vendor’s tent and models of firefighting equipment made from bamboo.

The hut is lined with models of firefighting tools, including a hand bucket, a fire lookout tower, a handbell, a matoi standard, and a tonbi hook. The character for “water” is also displayed high up as a charm against fire.

Through these models, which evoke the tools of the town fire brigade, you can get a concrete sense of this folk tradition of protection against fire.

A straw hut and bamboo firefighting tools preserving the wish for protection against fire

What to expect

In the past, people took turns staying overnight in the fire-watch hut and making night rounds to prevent fires.

The former hut is said to have been more substantial than today’s to accommodate overnight stays, but the present hut is a rough temporary structure made of straw, with no entrance, and cannot be slept in.

The display traces the role of the former fire watch through the hut and models of firefighting equipment.

Location and access

Venue and address

Atago Shrine grounds (Ebie, Itakura Town, Gunma Prefecture)

Address Ebie, Itakura Town, Gunma Prefecture

Tips for your visit

The hut today has no entrance and is not built for people to sleep in.

The overnight fire-prevention rounds of the past and the hut that remains today are not the same, so looking separately at the models and the hut’s structure can show how the custom has changed.

Origins and History of Atago Shrine fire-watch hut

Building a fire-watch hut was a folk custom in which people built a temporary hut, stayed overnight, and made night rounds to prevent fires.

It is said that in the past people took turns staying overnight and used a more substantial hut than the one today.

Today, the straw hut and models of firefighting equipment remain. The hut-building tradition is described as a unique folk custom that is rarely heard of elsewhere.

Atago Shrine fire-watch hut at a Glance

The Atago Shrine fire-watch hut is a folk tradition of fire prevention passed down at Atago Shrine in Ebie, Itakura Town.

Models of firefighting equipment, including a fire lookout tower, a handbell, a matoi standard, and a tonbi hook, are displayed beside a temporary hut made of straw.

In the past, people stayed overnight in the hut and made night rounds to prevent fires, but the hut today cannot be slept in; it can be seen as a way of preserving the old custom.

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