Onbashira has a reputation for being the most dangerous festival in Japan, and it has led to the injury and death of participants. There were fatal incidents in 1980, 1986, 1992,[76] 2010,[76][77] and 2016.[76] In 1992, two men drowned while a log was being pulled across a river.[76] In 2010, two men, Noritoshi Masuzawa, 45, and Kazuya Hirata, 33, died after falling from a height of 10 metres (33 ft) as a tree trunk was being raised on the grounds of the Suwa Grand Shrine. Two other men were injured in the same accident, which organizers say occurred when a guide-wire supporting the 17-metre (56 ft) tree gave way.[77] In 2016, one man died falling from a tree as it was being raised at the shrine.[76]
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Bxsx_fMf2J8/maxresdefault.jpg)