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Naked Festival

(Hadaka Matsuri)
The Naked Truth about Okayama's Strangest Festival

hadaka_maturi

Five hundred years ago, priests of Saidaiji Temple in Okayama Prefecture regularly undertook ascetic training around the time of the New Year. When finished, they would receive paper talismans, called Go-o, as proof that they had completed the training. At a festival held in the temple grounds, the priests distributed these papers to worshipers. Over time the crowds grew, becoming more aggressive in their attempts to retrieve one of the talismans, which were reputed to bring good luck. The talismans themselves changed from paper to wood, which was less easily torn.

Over the years, this gradually evolved into one of Japan's most spectacular festivals, the Hadaka Matsuri, or Naked Festival. Though there are other, similar festivals around Japan, this is probably the largest and most famous of them. The event is hailed as one of Japan's official "Three Strangest Festivals."

On the third Saturday of February, thousands of men (an estimated 9,000 at this year's event) throng the streets of the town. At around 11 PM the men begin to converge on the temple grounds, which echo with the sound of an all-women taiko drumming group. The men are not completely naked, but wear only fundoshi, a narrow loincloth. Before entering the temple, they purify themselves by passing through a trough of frigid water, then pay respects to two sacred statues. Then they begin to crowd into the temple. With cries of “Washoi, washoi!” they work themselves into a frenzy. Despite the bitter cold, steam rises from their bodies and festival staff periodically drench the mob with water from hoses.
At midnight, the lights are cut, leaving only a dim glow inside the open-sided hall where the men have already begun fighting for the best position. Two wooden sticks, called the shingi, are released from above. For about the next hour, the participants battle to seize one of the shingi and thrust it into a wooden box called the masu, which is filled with rice. Whoever succeeds is named the “Lucky Man,” and is blessed with fortune throughout the coming year.
The fight is spectacular, a cross between a crazed rugby match and a mob trying to escape a burning building. In a country where the attention paid to public safety can seem a bit neurotic at times to outsiders, this is a festival in which participants are routinely injured. This year, in fact, one man was trampled to death. Many of the men work in teams, having devised a strategy beforehand. Others try to handle the crowd by ducking between the legs of other participants, or climbing over their heads. Spectators crowd the edges of the mob, cheering them on. Others watch from purchased seating provided by the temple.
Finally, at the end of the evening, the lucky winners pose with the shingi for photographs, often alongside other team members. The crowds slowly disperse, and the festival is over for the year.
The Naked Festival is increasingly famous outside Japan, and each year brings a larger number of foreign participants. If you choose to take part in the festival, you might want to enlist the help of a few friends, both to share the experience and for safety's sake. Alternately you can join the huge crowd of onlookers. Don't forget to arrive a bit early. The festivities actually begin at around 6 PM, with events in which young boys scramble for mochi cakes or wooden balls.

>>Date
3rd Sunday of February, starts at 18:00

>>Access
Train
JR Okayama station===(JR Ako line, 17min.)====Saidaiji station===(On foot, 10 min.)===Saidaiji Temple

Car
JR Okayama station===(Route 2 Okayama Bypass, 40 min.)===Saidaiji Temple

>>Map
Okayama prefecture map>>Click here to view.

-Matt Mangham

>> Tours in Okayama