'Hiwatari Shinji' an ancient fire walking Shinto ritual is held at Oama Tenshigu Shrine (also known as Oama Shrine) annually on the 2nd Saturday of October* (*used to be October 15th). The shrine was built in 713 and the founder is said to have been the then Governor of Higo Province, Michinokimi-no-Obitona. Legend says that when Obitona first arrived in Higo, there was a terrible epidemic. In order to prevent the epidemic from spreading further he performed a fire walking ritual over hot coals and successfully avoided being burned. The ‘Hiwatari Shinji’ fire-walking Shinto ritual is based on this legend and has a history of about 1,300 years.