Fire as tradition.

Asakawa, Sachiko

"It's six-thirty. Where are the kids?" In the early morning of January 13, a schoolteacher in a very rural town in Japan was on the beach in front of a pile of woven straws, dried ferns, paper strips, and bamboo branches. These were the special decoration items that were being used since New Year's Day. Now they were quietly waiting to be lit on fire. Soon, a few children came down on the beach, some of them being accompanied by their parents or grandparents. The children were the main characters of this traditional event. It was they who had visited every household in the community on the previous day to collect the decoration items.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

January is probably the most mythical time of the year in Japan. New Year's Day is considered to be of great significance, and various traditional customs have been passed down for more than 1,000 years to wish happiness for the new year. Traditionally, for the first three days of January, most people do not work, but celebrate the beginning of the year with their families. It is as if no one can ever start a year without wishing good luck for it, and this ritual of burning the pile of decoration items is one of the traditional customs in line with that.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Many Japanese traditional customs and rituals are based on Shinto. According to this native religion, spirits or deities are believed to reside in elements of surrounding nature. A character that plays an important role for the beginning of the year is Toshigami, the "God of New Year." It is considered to visit each household on the first day of January and is said to inhabit the decorations set up inside the house. He resides in these items for about two weeks in order to give the family a blessing for the year. When Toshigami leaves the households, the community members get together to burn the decoration items as a farewell ritual. This bonfire is called Sagicho or Dondo-yaki.

Sagicho or Dondo-yaki, is said to have started about 1,000 years ago and has spread throughout Japan. There is no exact record of when this custom started in this community, but the local elementary school children still get out of their warm futon mattresses for this event.

The schoolteacher proceeded to the pile and lit a fire. The decorations and bamboo branches started burning. Mothers poured hot tea into paper cups to warm up the participants. The community people quietly gazed into the flame, because it was not just a fire incinerating litter. It was a sacred fire that connected humans to a higher power in nature, the God of New Year.

As the fire turned lower, children became excited to see the adults making small fire pits with stones on the beach. They knew that it was time for mochi (rice cake) roasting. An old man took red hot charcoals out of the bonfire and placed them in the fire pits. A grilling net was placed over each fire and then some pieces of rice cakes on top of it. The fire is considered to have the power of the God of New Year, which is transferred to the rice cakes roasted with it. Thus, it is said that by eating them, one can stay healthy throughout the year.

Visitors to Japan are often surprised to observe Japanese people's enthusiasm for having a connection with the power, wishing for their health and good luck. Undoubtedly, New Year's holidays are the best time to observe this. The special feast to celebrate New Year's Day has an assortment of various special foods that are associated with good luck. The decorations that the God of New Year inhabits are made with items that are related to happiness, prosperity, and longevity.

The enthusiasm found here may have something to do with the fact that Japan is prone to natural disasters. This country consists of several islands located in the Pacific Ring of Fire. It has been, and it will be affected by the movement of four tectonic plates. The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku that shocked the world is only one of the repeated earthquakes and tsunamis in the country's history. This small neighborhood at the southeastern tip of Shikoku Island is destined to suffer from a major earthquake every 100 to 150 years. And as if it is not enough, a few typhoons hit the area every year with furious wind, rain, and waves, sometimes causing landslides or flooding.

It is not hard to imagine that in ancient times, nature's fury was what people feared the most. Lacking the scientific knowledge on the events in their environment, seeing nature as "the awful unknown" must have made them feel insecure and powerless. Performing rituals gives people some sense of control instead of feeling totally powerless. It is interesting that more than 1,000 years ago, our ancestors developed various rituals to be connected to the higher powers in nature--spirits or deities. As a result, it may have made them feel a little closer to nature and helped them cope.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

What is unique is that in Japan, such rituals are still being observed even after the modern science has prevailed throughout the country. One hundred years ago, observing traditions was a duty. People followed tradition for the sake of keeping a tradition and no question was asked. However, the country experienced a significant change in the period of rapid economic growth after World War II, from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The pursuit of economic development led people to disrespect the traditions, which were perceived as meaningless rituals that provided no materialistic gain. It was fortunate that some traditions were carried on through this period by those who kept a strong sense of duty.

Then, only recently, the nation started to realize the need to stop and think about our environment and what we should not abandon. Gradually, we came to realize that to pass down something to the next generation, the effort must be based on knowing why it is important.

The Geopark Approach

The Global Geoparks Network is a UNESCO-supported program that is a holistic effort to raise awareness among the local people about the value of the community and facilitate the sustainable development there. With a geological perspective being the primary focus, Geoparks also address the local community life that is supported and sustained, and sometimes severely threatened by the ground beneath our feet. Thus, the project values the intangible assets created by locals through their interactions with nature.

As interpreters in a Geopark, we help visitors rediscover the relationship between people's way of living and the landscape, as well as climate and the movements of the earth. It was through this Geopark activity that we realized the advantage of inheriting traditional customs with a long history.

One advantage in inheriting traditional customs is the roles they give to community members. When teaching children the frontline scientific knowledge about their environment, it can be hard to find a role for elderly community members to play in the effort. But when performing traditional rituals, especially religious festivals, elderly people are a reliable reference, not someone being patronized. Children who participate witness the community functioning as a whole, with everyone performing a certain role. Rituals provide a sense of the connection that exists between their lives and nature. In addition, performing traditional rituals creates a sense of teamwork and cooperation, which serves in disaster response.

Another advantage to maintaining rituals is that they enrich community members' interaction with nature. Our inherited traditional customs invite one to see how our ancestors tried to embody their "wishes" in their unique ways. By allegorically incorporating their wisdom into various customs in everyday life, they invite us to feel the sense of respect they had towards nature. After all, it may be a society's wisdom to always secure a room for unscientific beings. What would Christmas be like without Santa Claus?

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Why Do We Do This?

"Okay! Who wants rice cakes?!" the old man called out. The children rushed to the fire pits to enjoy the sticky treat. The same story is told each year. Parents heard their own parents' anecdotes of Sagicho in their childhood.

Traditionally, when asked by children, "Why do we do this Sagicho? We all know there is no God of New Year!" their parents answered, "Because it's a tradition!" Now we, the Geopark interpreters, and the youth and parents in the community, are in the process of finding meaning in this community event so that we can answer this question in our own words. That is becoming our new tradition. It takes some effort indeed, but if we are determined to pass down the wisdom of living in harmony with nature, which is needed everywhere in the world, I believe that we can start a tradition today.

Sachiko Asakawa is an interpretive guide at Muroto Global Geopark in Muroto City, Kochi Prefecture, Japan. Find out more about Global Geoparks at http://tinyurl.com/c2m7wu6.