Nara: Unique Temple Frog-Jumping Festival Held in Searing Summer Heat

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:34 JST, July 24, 2025

YOSHINO, Nara — In the scorching summer heat on July 7, Kinpusenji temple in Yoshino, Nara Prefecture, held a traditional and peculiar festival, which features a performer in a frog costume leaping and hopping.

The temple’s Renge-e frog hopping festival has its origins in a legend about a man who, after insulting an ascetic, is taken by an eagle and left on Mt. Omine. A high-ranking priest from Kinpusenji temple transformed the man into a frog to rescue him and later returned him to human form through his spiritual power.

A float bearing a frog performer was carried by local young people along the temple’s approach and finally reached the main hall. In front of the hall, the “frog” performed on stage, leaping and hopping forward to face a monk. After bowing its head in repentance, the frog shed its costume to reveal a human underneath. The unique transformation mesmerized the many participants.

This year, the festival was hit by intense heat. A mountain ascetic who was blowing a conch shell and observing participants was drenched in sweat.

“It was tough,” said Hideyuki Hashimoto, a 58-year-old confectionery shop owner who played the frog.

This year marked the 22nd time that Hashimoto played the frog. As he wiped away his sweat, he said, “My only thoughts were about fulfilling my role safely and praying for everyone’s health.”