FUJIYOSHIDA, Yamanashi -- About 100 huge torches were set ablaze during the Yoshida Fire Festival on Sunday to herald the end of this year's climbing season on Mt. Fuji.
The torches, standing about 3 meters and weighing about 200 kilograms each, are part of a traditional ritual to pray for containing Mt. Fuji's volcanic activities. Having been designated by the government as an important intangible folk-cultural property for its 400-year history, the festival is based on mythology that a deity of Mt. Fuji gave birth amid flames.
The huge torches were set along a national highway route in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, that is believed to have been an ancient road on which those who admired Mt. Fuji as a sacred place had traveled.
Mt. Fuji officially ends its climbing season on Sept. 10.
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