Shuyo-ji Temple

"This Buddhist temple is dedicated to the Akiha Sanjakubo Daigongen, a manifestation of the Buddha as a Shinto god of fire protection appearing as a long-nosed Japanese goblin called a tengu. The temple enshrines statues of Sanjakubo and Avalokitesvara amidst the mountains a 30-minute walk from Akiha Shrine and an hour and a half from the foot of the mountain on which is located the Senko-ji Temple, a sub-temple of the Shuyo-ji Temple. During the temple's Fire Festival, held each year on December 15 and 16, a ceremony is performed to pray that the protection from fire the temple is purported to endow grows even stronger. The temple is famous for its fire walking event, known as the ""Ascetic Training of the Four Heavenly Kings,"" in which parishioners walk barefooted one at a time over the hot coals of a consecrated homa fire."