Chiba-ke no Irori Hi

An Irori Sunken Hearth Fire Kept Alight for Roughly 800 Years

For roughly 800 years, a fire burned continuously in the irori sunken hearth at the Chiba Sonbei family home in Meiho Kera. It's said the fire was first kindled with flint in 1221. Each succeeding generation of the family head inherited the name Sonbei and faithfully kept the embers alive. Even during the Great Nobi Earthquake of 1891, the family reportedly saved the embers in a brazier while taking refuge in a bamboo grove behind the house. While the hearth fire was a precious family legacy, maintaining it became increasingly difficult with modern lifestyles, causing inner conflict for the 26th head. The decision was influenced by the final wish of the 25th head, who passed away in 2019: "It's okay to extinguish it now." In 2020, the Chiba family's irori fire, with its incredibly long history, was finally put out. However, embers from this ancient fire can still be seen today at Surusumi-an (located in Michi-no-Eki Meiho, where the fire was shared in 1991) and at the culinary inn Mizukami (shared in 2020).