裸祭 is an intriguing festival that takes place in February every year in 岡山 (おかやま - Okayama), two hours out of Hyogo by local trains or half an hour by 新幹線 (しんかんせん - shinkansen - bullet train). Thousands of men flock to 西大寺 (さいだいじ - Saidaiji - Saidai Temple, a Buddhist one if you remember that post!) for a chance at a cash prize and the promise of health and luck for the rest of the year. Fortunately, the "naked" isn't taken literally - they all wear 褌 (ふんどし - fundoshi - loincloths) and 足袋 (たび - tabi - Japanese split-toe socks). Even so, it makes for a very strange sight... particularly when you remember it's the dead of winter!
On the night of the festival, the participants ran circles around the block trying to keep warm. During this time, they were repeatedly sprayed with water which is to purify them before the festival. This is a classically 神道 (Shinto) ritual - there is no evil as such, only impurities which can be removed. As they made their way to the temple, they cheerily chanted "わっしょい、 わっしょい"(wasshoi, wasshoi - there's no real translation, but it's a bit like “heave ho, heave ho”). When I got to the temple, I joined thousands of spectators and a huge number of police (can you read their jackets?) and medical staff as the rest of the men rushed in.
They began pouring into a pagoda in the middle of the temple, quickly filling it and spilling over into the area outside. This was where they were going to start their "fight" - each scrambling to get his hands on a holy stick worth a considerable amount of money and prestige. I'm told there were nine thousand men competing in the festival, and watching the surging crowd, I could believe it.
In a reminder of how dangerous it was, the medics were called in several times to pull someone out who had fallen down the stairs on either side of the pagoda.
Once the sticks were thrown, the whole area erupted into even more of a frenzy. Steam poured out of the pagoda as everyone crashed over one another trying to get one.
Needless to say, it's extremely dangerous and there have even been deaths in the past, but fortunately this year noone was seriously injured. It was easily the most exciting festival I've been to so far, and if you're in the area I would recommend going to have a look. Anyone is welcome to enter as well, so if you're brave enough to have a go, feel free. The festival is sometimes translated to the "Naked Man Festival", but that's not right - there are no rules to say women can't enter. Understandably though, none ever have!
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