It might sound rather wacky, but the Hadaka Matsuri festival
is a sacred and eccentric tradition in Japan which sees half-naked men vie for
the ownership of the wooden sticks, called shingi.
Thrown into the baying mob by a priest, the man who
successfully attains the shingi and manages to get them, upright, into a wooden
box is said to be blessed with an entire year of happiness. The 500-year-old
festival at the Saidaiji Temple in the city of Okayama also sees other lucky
charms thrown into the crowd such as bundles of willow strips.
At midnight the lights are turned off, the 20cm-long sticks
are thrown into the crowd, and, shouting ‘Wasshoi! Wasshoi!’, the men attempt
to grab the sacred charms from one another.
The event, which is also known as the Naked Festival,
happens every year on the third Saturday of February, meaning that this year’s
event took place yesterday.
In its infancy half a millennium ago, participants would
jostle for talismans made of paper but, because they were easily torn, the
items had to be changed to something more durable.
No comments:
Post a Comment