Strange noises begin eminating from the shrine, which is the signal that the ceremony has begun. After a little while you realise that the noises are in fact footsteps, caused by a man running from one side of the shrine to the other, pausing only to jump up and down in the doorway. It's quite spooky in a bizarre way. Then this priest dressed in red lights a huge torch INSIDE the shrine, and proceeds to drag it around INSIDE the shrine for several minutes, before emerging at the doorway. No wonder so many temples and shrines have burned down in Japan.