The Naked Festival of Japan
The Naked Festival of Japan
It's the annual Hadaka Matsuri of Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Japan. In case you're wondering, "hadaka" means "naked" and "matsuri" means "festival" -- so it's the "naked festival" even if most people appear to be wearing some kind of diaper.
Want to know why they're doing this? Click "next" and find out.
Getting Naked at Japan's Hadaka Matsuri
Some of the 9,000 men who took part in this year's Hadaka Matsuri at the Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Japan, get ready for the festivities.
It's called the "naked festival," but in reality no one actually gets completely naked. They wear these sumo-style loinclothes -- aka diapers -- as they fight for lucky sticks tossed into the crowd of man-flesh by the temple priests.
The men who get the sticks get lucky.
I mean, they get to be called the "lucky men."
They don't actually get lucky, as far as I know... but maybe they do.
What I'm trying to say is, that's not necessarily a part of the festival itself.
And it all happens in the middle of the night, according to the Japan Event Calendar.
Getty Ready for a Naked River Dive in Japan
Men at the Hadaka Matsuri at the Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Japan get ready "purified" by the freezing cold Yoshii River before they do battle over lucky sticks.
The sticks are just an inch and a half in diameter and nearly 8 inches long, and they're thrown into the crowd by a priest from a window 13 feet above the festivities.
As the men climb all over each other to try to grab the sticks, they shout "Wasshoi!
Wasshoi!" which is kind of like "heave-ho, heave-ho."
Oh, and the lights are shut off as this happens AND the men are splashed with freezing cold water AND it takes place in the middle of winter when it's already pretty darned cold out.
Once a man grabs the sticks, it's not over. They can be taken away -- rugby-style -- as the naked men keep fighting for them until the bitter end.
The one who finally gets to put the sticks into a wooden box of rice gets to be called the "lucky man."
Part of his prize: a year of happiness, although I hear that's not actually guaranteed.
The event is considered one of the "three most eccentric festivals" of Japan, according to the Japan National Tourist Organization.
Women Get in on the Act at Japan's Naked Festival
Although women don't compete in the hunt for lucky sticks, they can still have some nearly naked fun at the Hadaka Matsuri at the Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Japan.
It's an annual ritual in which men take almost everything off and dive into a cold river in a hunt for lucky sticks.
Splashing Around at Japan's Naked Festival
The 500-year-old Hadaka Matsuri at the Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Japan wasn't always a quest for plain old sticks.
Originally, men who participated in this "naked festival" fought over paper good luck charms called "Go-o."
But you know what happens to paper when naked men fight over it.
Actually, I don't know what happens to paper when naked men fight over it, but apparently it doesn't hold up very well -- so according to Somewhere in the World Today, they changed over to more durable wooden sticks.
If you don't happen to be lucky enough to get lucky sticks, all's not lost.
There are consolation prizes at Saidaiji Temple's Hadaka Matsuri: More than 100 bundles of willow strips are also tossed into the crowd.
With more than 9,000 men at the festival, though, you still have to be pretty lucky to get one.
Even the kids get in on the act at the "G" rated version of the naked festival of Japan -- but their version of the festival is a little different.
Click "next" to find out more.
Instead of taking place in the middle of the night, primary school kids square of at 6 p.m. for their version of the "naked festival." And instead of fighting for lucky sticks, they battle for "rice cakes and cylindrical treasures," according to the Japan National Tourist Organization.
It's the annual Hadaka Matsuri of Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Japan. In case you're wondering, "hadaka" means "naked" and "matsuri" means "festival" -- so it's the "naked festival" even if most people appear to be wearing some kind of diaper.
Want to know why they're doing this? Click "next" and find out.
Getting Naked at Japan's Hadaka Matsuri
Some of the 9,000 men who took part in this year's Hadaka Matsuri at the Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Japan, get ready for the festivities.
It's called the "naked festival," but in reality no one actually gets completely naked. They wear these sumo-style loinclothes -- aka diapers -- as they fight for lucky sticks tossed into the crowd of man-flesh by the temple priests.
The men who get the sticks get lucky.
I mean, they get to be called the "lucky men."
They don't actually get lucky, as far as I know... but maybe they do.
What I'm trying to say is, that's not necessarily a part of the festival itself.
And it all happens in the middle of the night, according to the Japan Event Calendar.
Getty Ready for a Naked River Dive in Japan
Men at the Hadaka Matsuri at the Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Japan get ready "purified" by the freezing cold Yoshii River before they do battle over lucky sticks.
The sticks are just an inch and a half in diameter and nearly 8 inches long, and they're thrown into the crowd by a priest from a window 13 feet above the festivities.
As the men climb all over each other to try to grab the sticks, they shout "Wasshoi!
Wasshoi!" which is kind of like "heave-ho, heave-ho."
Oh, and the lights are shut off as this happens AND the men are splashed with freezing cold water AND it takes place in the middle of winter when it's already pretty darned cold out.
Once a man grabs the sticks, it's not over. They can be taken away -- rugby-style -- as the naked men keep fighting for them until the bitter end.
The one who finally gets to put the sticks into a wooden box of rice gets to be called the "lucky man."
Part of his prize: a year of happiness, although I hear that's not actually guaranteed.
The event is considered one of the "three most eccentric festivals" of Japan, according to the Japan National Tourist Organization.
Women Get in on the Act at Japan's Naked Festival
Although women don't compete in the hunt for lucky sticks, they can still have some nearly naked fun at the Hadaka Matsuri at the Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Japan.
It's an annual ritual in which men take almost everything off and dive into a cold river in a hunt for lucky sticks.
Splashing Around at Japan's Naked Festival
The 500-year-old Hadaka Matsuri at the Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Japan wasn't always a quest for plain old sticks.
Originally, men who participated in this "naked festival" fought over paper good luck charms called "Go-o."
But you know what happens to paper when naked men fight over it.
Actually, I don't know what happens to paper when naked men fight over it, but apparently it doesn't hold up very well -- so according to Somewhere in the World Today, they changed over to more durable wooden sticks.
If you don't happen to be lucky enough to get lucky sticks, all's not lost.
There are consolation prizes at Saidaiji Temple's Hadaka Matsuri: More than 100 bundles of willow strips are also tossed into the crowd.
With more than 9,000 men at the festival, though, you still have to be pretty lucky to get one.
Even the kids get in on the act at the "G" rated version of the naked festival of Japan -- but their version of the festival is a little different.
Click "next" to find out more.
Instead of taking place in the middle of the night, primary school kids square of at 6 p.m. for their version of the "naked festival." And instead of fighting for lucky sticks, they battle for "rice cakes and cylindrical treasures," according to the Japan National Tourist Organization.
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