Kiyari are traditional work chants sung to coordinate workers when transporting heavy materials such as timber and stone.Hachioji’s kiyari are said to follow the Edo kiyari tradition. In the late Edo period, a kiyari master known as “Hongo Masa” is believed to have lived in Hachiman-juku and passed the practice on to tobi (firefighting workers) of the time.The Hachioji Firefighting Memorial Association carries on the traditions of the firefighting groups of Hachioji-juku, which are said to date back to the Tenmei era (1781–1789) of the Edo period.Even today, kiyari and ladder climbing acrobatics (hashigo-nori) are performed at events such as the New Year’s fire review ceremony in January and the spring festival at Mount Takao’s Yakuo-in in April, helping to preserve these traditional practices.In recognition of its historical and cultural value, Hachioji kiyari was designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Hachioji City in 1960.