COURTESY THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN

CLIMBING HIGH FOR A CAUSE

Members of a group demonstrating a centuries-old firefighting tradition display banners atop bamboo ladders during the dezomeshiki New Year’s Fire Review festival at Tokyo Big Sight exhibition center in Koto ward, Tokyo, on Jan. 6. The annual spectacle is held by the Tokyo Fire Department to raise fire safety awareness. During the event, Edo Firemanship Preservation Association members performed acrobatic stunts on the ladders, a tradition passed down from firefighters of the Edo period (1603-1867); Edo is the old name for Tokyo. The banners offered prayers for recovery from the Jan. 1, 2024, Noto Peninsula earthquake.