Wife, Partner, and Fire Patrol Leader

Meet Obi Wan Naomi

I doubt you have ever heard of the "Hi no Yojin" (Beware of Fire) tradition in Japan. It's a practice deeply rooted in community service. Last year, my wife Naomi assumed a role that embodies this communal spirit by becoming our local neighborhood association's fire patrol leader.

Back in the Edo Period -- from around 1600 to the late 1800s -- fire was the main way that Japanese folks stayed warm, fed and clean. Fire prevention efforts consisted of a group of neighbors walking around and beating two wooden sticks together to remind everyone to be careful and diligently tend to their fires. Local Hi no Yojin groups would walk around the area and clack wooden sticks together, an acoustic reminder for everyone to beware of fire.

A typical Hi no Yojin group in Fukui. 

Credit: Chunichi Shimbun

Even in modern Japan, many apartments and houses have no central heating and little insulation. People still tend to heat their homes, apartments and rooms with electric or gas space heaters. So, the tradition of a community fire watch lives on.

These days, the fire patrols are a responsibility shared by a neighborhood's residents, just like garbage sorting and disposal, or group clean-up days of drainage grates and parks. Our neighborhood is fortunate to have a good mix of people, but with an aging population and many empty nesters, our turn came to organize it and Naomi took on the task. According to her, the lengthy planning meetings were tiring, while the actual walkaround patrols were mostly short and symbolic. The patrols were once every couple of weeks during the winter months in the evening. Naomi's group, all sporting fluorescent safety vests, would take a brief walk around the neighborhood. They would clack the wooden sticks. This serves a dual purpose: reminding residents, especially the elderly, about fire safety. Additionally, the visible presence of the patrol acts as a deterrent to petty crime, an ersatz neighborhood watch, which they also do sporadically during the warmer months.

Naomi did her civic duty on behalf of our family by leading this activity for the local community. It does foster a sense of community spirit, which is probably why it persists to this day. And it's a great example for our daughters and me.