Nigatsu-do means "Hall of the Second Month," named for the lunar calendar month when the ceremony was originally held. The hall sits on the eastern hillside of the Todai-ji temple complex in Nara, perched above and to the east of the famous Great Buddha Hall. A monk named Sanetada founded it around 752, but it was Jitchu, a pupil of the eminent monk Roben, who introduced the repentance service dedicated to the eleven-faced Kannon Bodhisattva in 752. That service became known as Shuni-e, the Ceremony of the Second Month, and its most dramatic element -- the fire torches -- gave rise to the popular name Omizutori, meaning "drawing sacred water." The current hall, rebuilt in 1669 after the fire, is a designated National Treasure of Japan, its heavy wooden frame anchored into the hillside with the veranda extending outward like the prow of a ship overlooking the city.

From March 1 through March 14, ten young monks take turns carrying massive pine torches across the balcony of Nigatsu-do each evening. The torches blaze and shower embers down on the spectators gathered below, who believe the falling sparks bring purification and good fortune. On March 12, the climactic night, eleven torches appear instead of ten, larger than the others, and the ceremony extends to forty-five minutes. Deep in the early morning hours of March 13, around 1:30 AM, the real heart of the ritual unfolds in near secrecy: priests draw water from a sacred well beneath the hall that is said to flow only on this one night each year. This water is offered first to the Kannon and other deities, then to the gathered faithful. The entire two-week ceremony is a rite of repentance, the monks confessing transgressions on behalf of all humanity.

The history of Nigatsu-do is a story of stubborn survival. The Great Buddha Hall of Todai-ji, one of the largest wooden structures on earth, was destroyed twice -- in civil wars in 1180 and again in 1567. Both times, Nigatsu-do escaped the flames. Its luck ran out in 1667, when the hall caught fire during the Shuni-e service itself. But the monks did not let the ceremony lapse. The hall was rebuilt by 1669, and the ritual continued without break. In 1944, the Japanese government designated Nigatsu-do as one of the most important cultural properties in the country. The hall holds two statues of the eleven-faced Kannon -- one large, one small -- but both are classified as hibutsu, or "secret Buddhas," meaning they are never displayed to the public. No photograph of them exists in public record.

Beyond the ceremony, Nigatsu-do rewards visitors year-round with one of the finest views in all of Nara. The wide wooden balcony extends from the hillside like a stage, and from its railing the entire city spreads below -- tile rooftops, temple compounds, the dark green canopy of Nara Park where sacred deer wander freely. The Great Buddha Hall rises massively to the west. The approach to the hall climbs through a quiet sub-complex of smaller buildings, stone lanterns, and ancient trees, a world apart from the tourist crowds at the Great Buddha. Wooden stairs worn smooth by centuries of pilgrims lead to the veranda. At sunset, the view turns the rooftops golden, and in March the distant mountains frame the fire ceremony against the darkening sky.