The O-Mizutori Of The Nigatsudo Hall

The O-Mizutori (water-drawing ceremony) at Nigatsudo Hall is one of Japan's oldest Buddhist observances, performed annually at Tōdai-ji in Nara since 752 CE. Kotozuka's print likely captures the ceremony's most visually striking element: the nightly torch-lit processions of early March, when monks carry large flaming torches (otaimatsu) along the open gallery, swinging them to scatter sparks in arcing cascades over the crowd below. The nighttime setting would have required a deep indigo bokashi sky, while the torchlight and ember trails demanded warm amber and ochre tones against surrounding darkness. The Nigatsudo's silhouette and broad thatched roof would anchor the composition, framing the spectacle of fire against night. This subject falls outside Kotozuka's predominantly Kyoto focus, representing a deliberate excursion to document one of Japan's most celebrated Buddhist observances at Nara's ancient temple complex.