Hadaka Matsuri at Konomiya Shrine
There's something about bad luck that brings out the delightfully bizarre in every culture. We'll do anything to fight it off it seems. From knocking on wood to pretending that buildings don't have a 13th floor.
In the small town of Konomiya, they prefer to strip down to loincloths. In near zero-degree weather. While chasing around a naked guy. And getting splashed with ice-cold water.
This is the gist of what happens during the annual Konomiya Hadaka Matsuri a.k.a. Naked Festival. It's a religious ceremony that takes place at the Konomiya Shrine every 13th day of the lunar year, which fell on February 9 when we were there. This 2018, the big day is on Feb. 28.
This age-old tradition is said to have started in the year 767, when a plague was spreading across Japan, and the emperor ordered everyone to drive it away with cleansing rituals. For the people of Konomiya, this meant ambushing someone who was probably just traveling through town, then inflicting all sorts of violence on him as a way of passing on their bad luck. They must have felt it worked, too, because it became an annual practice after that. I imagine it wasn't long before travelers steered clear of Konomiya. You know. Avoiding it like the plague. ba-dum-tss
These days, however, the Konomiya Hadaka Matsuri has become quite the tourist draw. Around 200,000 people converge at the Konomiya Shrine to watch the spectacle. The main event is when the Shin-otoko, after spending three days in a small room eating only rice and soup, is released, naked and shaved, into a horde of 10,000 inebriated men who will each try to touch him because they believe doing so will bring them good luck.
It's a recipe for madness and mayhem. And damage isn't confined to the Shin-otoko alone. A lot of the participants get hurt from all the pushing and pulling and clawing and tearing. At one point, we saw medics rush in to resuscitate an old man who had lost consciousness. The crowd around him grew quiet for a while, but when it seemed like he was going to be okay, the festive mood returned in full force.
We never actually saw the Shin-otoko himself, because his 'lucky' status pretty much ensured that he would be constantly surrounded by a mass of men all vying for a piece of him. Shin-otoko means man of god, and it's considered a position of honor for anyone who gets chosen.
Poor guy just probably wanted to reverse the effects of his balat
Some angles are a tad more revealing than others
My mother posing with the revelers
So yes, there are probably far easier, less painful ways to get lucky. But as the people of Konomiya would probably say - where's the fun in that?
Getting There
From Meitetsu Nagoya Station, take the Meitetsu Line Express headed for Gifu. Get off at Konomiya Station. The shrine, which is also known as the Owari Okuni Tama Jinja, is a 5-min. walk from the North Exit.
There is no admission fee. But if you want a prime viewing spot up a balcony, that'll set you back around 6,000 yen.