Omizutori

Nara · Fire festival

Monks run burning cedar torches along the balcony of Nigatsu-do every evening for a fortnight, showering sparks on the crowd below. It has been held every year since 752.

Dates

1 to 14 March 2027

1 to 14 March every year. The largest torches are on the night of 12 March, and the water drawing itself happens in the small hours of the 13th.

Dates checked against the official site on August 21, 2026

Omizutori is the popular name for Shuni-e, a set of rites at Todai-ji that has been performed every year since 752. That is the part worth pausing on. Not restored, not revived after a gap. Every year, through famine, war and the burning of the temple itself, for over twelve and a half centuries. What visitors come for is the Otaimatsu. Each evening a monk carries a burning cedar torch out along the balcony of Nigatsu-do and runs its length, trailing embers over the people standing below. Catching a spark is held to keep you well for the year. The torches are large on most nights and very large on the 12th, which is also the night the crowd is at its worst. The rite the whole fortnight is named for happens after most people have gone home. In the early hours of 13 March water is drawn from a well below the hall, and it is offered to the temple's Kannon. The well is said to yield water only on that night.

Getting a good spot

The balcony run lasts only a few minutes and the approach to Nigatsu-do is one way, with entry closed once it fills. The 12th draws by far the largest crowd and is worth avoiding unless the biggest torches matter to you. Any other evening is far easier and shows the same rite. Nara nights in March are cold and you will be waiting outdoors.

Where it happens

Todai-ji Main site A UNESCO World Heritage temple housing the world's largest bronze Buddha statue inside the largest wooden building in... Nara Park Historic park home to over 1,000 freely roaming sacred deer and several UNESCO World Heritage temples.

Access

Common questions

When is Omizutori?

1 to 14 March, the same dates every year. Torches are lit every evening of the fortnight, so you do not need to be there on a particular night.

Which night should I choose?

Any night except the 12th, unless the largest torches are the point of the trip. The rite is the same on the other evenings and the crowd is a fraction of the size, which means you can actually get close enough to see it.

Has it really run every year since 752?

That is the temple's own claim, and it is the reason the rite is described as an unbroken observance rather than a revived one. It has continued through fires that destroyed the buildings around it, with the rites moved rather than cancelled.