Honorable Mention TIFA 2025 People / Event

Submerged In Fire and Faith

  • Photographer
    Tetsuya Okubo
  • Technical Info
    1/125 F2.8 75mm Iso1000 Aps-c
  • Photo Date
    2025/07/06

In the climactic moment of Noto’s Abare Festival, men throw the mikoshi—sacred portable shrines—into rivers, the sea, or flames. They smash and shake it violently to call the gods. This destruction is seen as sacred, believed to invite the divine closer. Surrounded by fire and water, the mikoshi is finally submerged into the river—a purifying act of faith and frenzy.

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