Members of Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist Church of Hawaii chanting, playing instruments, and twirling the matoi. The matoi has a body called “toban” made of wood or brass with “baren” strips of leather or paper, & sits on a staff with a metal bottom, and weighs 45#. It symbolizes embracing life and Buddhist teachings. In ancient Edo Japan, matoi were used to encourage firemen (Hikeshi) to fight fires. Each firefighting unit had a Hikeshi who would twirl the matoi atop burning buildings, motivating others to extinguish the fire to prevent the matoi from burning.