Abare Festival  Abare Festival is a Japanese festival commonly known as the "Fire & Violence Festival". It takes place in Ushitsu of Noto Peninsula and is dedicated to the Yasaka Shrine. The festival takes place every year in July on the first Friday and Saturday of the month. Abare Festival is commonly referred to as "the Fire & Violence Festival". Visitors can watch "kiriko" (キリコ, Noto's unique illuminated lantern floats) and "mikoshi" (みこし, portable shrines) being carried through the streets, eat festival foods, hear "taiko" drums and see many people dressed in their summer festival wear (ゆかた). The "kirikos" and "mikoshis" are first blessed by priests and sake is poured over them and into the mouths of the men who carry them. From this point onwards, sake flows freely all night long. The "kiriko" are sponsored by neighborhoods within Ushitsu and are usually carried by local residents, or former residents.,  The festival is held on the first Friday through Saturday of July every year (previously on July 7 and 8) as the first Noto kiriko festivals, which are held all over Noto, Ishikawa from July to September. Abare festival is dedicated to Yasaka Shrine in Ushitsu. After "kiriko" are showcased in town streets, 40 giant "kiriko" are gathered at the pier, where huge bonfires are set, with melody of "taiko" drums, gongs, and flutes around the fire. The purpose of this festival is to hustle bravely and violently as its name indicates. It is said that the more violently people behave, the more god will delight as this rampage represents enshrined "Susanoo no Mikoto", who is known as a destructive deity. On the first night, Friday, of the festivities the Mikoshi and about 40 Kiriko make their way through the streets of Ushitsu (a village inside of Noto Town) and finally gather in front of the city hall to weave around large bonfires resting on the top of large poles. Groups of men (and rarely women) work together to carry the large wooden Kiriko while children sit atop it playing drums and flutes. The men often carry the Kiriko so close to the suspended bonfires that they suffer minor or major burns from the falling sparks. The children usually wear wet towels draped over their heads to protect them from the sparks.