Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-07-01
FIRE WALKING IN JAPAN.
The shintOists Look Upon IL rs
Great Miracle.

From the New YORK 1rlDuhe
AT a little Shinto shrine in the heart OF
Toxic a wonderful rite. looked upon as a
miracle by the Shintoists, has been per-
formed every spring and fall for many
wears Until recently the occurrence was
known only to the Japanese, but In the last
wear or two it has reached the ears of an
increa sngly large number of foreigners
who, mostly incredulous, have obtained
permission to attend, and at the last per-
Torrance Of the rite, on April 8, 1900. there
were present about fifty OF them. who de-
parted mystified-
The ceremony is called ''Hi-Wattarai'-
fire walking-and that Is what actually
takes place. For days, perhaps weeks, pc
forehand the priests connected with the
temple devote themselves to fasting and
prayer The performance Is always ap-
pointed to take place between and D
o clock in the afternoon in the small temple
court. but at o'clock begins the final out
burst Of prayer before the unveiled altar In
the inner sanctuary of the little matted
temple. From till . o'clock the prayers
continued, led by the chief priest. At 5
o clock the priests fled from before the
altar into some interior apartments of the
temple. where they were to change their
beautiful robes for the dress worn during
the fire walking.
work IN the court yard to ignite the great
bed of charcoal which had already been
laid. The dimensions Of this bed were
about twelve feet by four, and perhaps a
foot deep. On the top was quantity of
straw and kindling wood, which was light
ed and soon burst into a roaring blaze. The
charcoal became more and more thorough
ly ignited. The men not only famed the
flames, but turned the Goals over and over
by running long poles underneath and
bringing them to the surface. And now
two of the priests came out, said a prayer
or two at a tiny shrine In corner Of the
Incl nd ed hair a n
preparation of the fire. Taking long fans
and poles from the coolies, they poked and
encouraged the blaze till it could plainly be
seen that the coal was ignited throughout.
The whole bed was a glowing mass, and
the heat which arose from it was so intense
that IL was uncomfortable to sit fifteen
feet away without holding fan before
ones face. Then they began to pound 1t
down more solidly along the middle, using
the poles like falls. AS far possible in
CAPABILITIES over the middle were beaten
down, and Goals which protruded were
brushed aside.
The other priests who were to take part
appeared, after having prayed once more
for a short time within the temple. One
of them held pile OF white powder on q
small wooden stand This was said to De
salt; as far as could be ascertained by a
| superficial examination, 1t was a mixture
| of alum and salt. He stood one end and
| poised the wooden tray above his head.
then sprinkled handful of 1t on the ground
| before the bed of Goals. At the same time
| another priest who stood by him struck
sparks from flint and steel which he held
| in his hands. This same process was re-
| peated by both the priests at the other end,
/ at the two sides and at the corners.
Ten minutes, perhaps, were spent in
! various movements and incantations about
! the bed of Goals. At the end of that time
| two small pieces of wet mating were
| brought out and placed at either end. and
| a quantity of the white mixture was
| placed upon them. One of the priests
| stood upon this. wiped his feet well in 1t
| and walked over, his bare feet coming in
| contact with the glowing Goals at every
/ step He did not hurry, nor take long steps.
| He walked around to the other end and
passed over again. This time he ran the
/ last two three feet of the way as IL the
| Goals hurt him After passing over he rub
| bed his feet again in the powder which was
| at the other end. Though this priest walked
| across again and again after that he did
| not again show any sign of undue haste.
| The leading priest went next. His move
| ments were even slower and more delicate
He took short steps, his hands were
| clasped In front. and he seemed lost in con-
| temptation, as he might an ordinary
/ garden walk During the numerous times
/ that he traversed the bed from one end to
1 the other he acted with the same delibera-
| tion and dignity. The young priest who
| followed him had been theatrical from the
| first. He swung his hands ba ok and forth
! in one of which he held an open fan, and