Hadaka Matsuri

A hadaka matsuri (裸祭り) is a type of Japanese festival, or matsuri, in which participants wear a minimum amount of clothing; usually just a Japanese loincloth (called fundoshi), sometimes with a short happi coat, and very rarely completely naked. Whatever the clothing, it is considered to be above vulgar, or everyday, undergarments, and on the level of holy Japanese shrine attire. Naked festivals are held in dozens of places throughout Japan every year, usually in the summer or winter. The most famous festival is held in Okayama, where the festival originated. Every year, approximately 9,000 men participate in this festival.

History
The origins of this festival date back 500 years when worshippers competed to receive paper talismans called Go-o thrown by the priest. These paper talismans were tokens of the completion of New Year ascetic training by the priests. As those people receiving these paper talismans had good things happen to them, the number of people requesting them increased year by year. However, as paper was easily torn, the talismans were changed to the wooden ofuda that we know today.

Naoi-shinji, also known as "Hadaka Matsuri (naked festival)", started in the year 767 AD, the Nara Period. This rite was founded on the fact that the governor of Owari Province (presently Aichi Pref.) visited the Owari Shosha Shrine ( Konomiya shrine ) to drive away evil spirits and calamities, because Emperor Shotoku ordered all the kokubun-ji* to offer invocations to dispel plagues.

It is said that the form of the festival, a struggle to touch the Naoinin or Shin-otoko (man of god), is reminiscent of the struggle in old times between the assemblage of lower-ranking shinto priests called shanin and contributors tried to catch and set up a man for naoinin (shin-otoko), an unlucky poor man, who was unwilling to take the role.

Beliefs
Shinto tradition believes that the Naked Man absorbs all bad luck and evil deeds from the men who touch him - no-one is sure, but the ritual may commemorate the end of a plague, as the Naked Man takes on the ills of the community and is then expelled from it.

It is a great honour to be chosen as the Shin-otokoa. It needs to be - first he must undergo elaborate purification rites by shaving off all the hair on his body. He then sets off through the streets, besieged by over 9000 men, all desperate to touch him. He is pummelled, chased, pulled over; he faints, is bruised and must spend an entire day in the thick of a heaving mass of loinclothed bodies while completely naked. When he finally arrives at his destination, the crowd jostle to grab any available part of his body for an hour or more before he can pay his respects to the Shinto deity of the shrine. Once he is dressed he is then shooed out of town to rid the town of all evil.

Only the men dressed in loincloths (fundoshi) and sandals (tabi) are allowed to touch the Naked Man and special bodyguards line the route to splash freezing water over them as the Naked Man draws near. This has the dual purpose of restraining the wild impulses of the loinclothed ones while creating an aura of mystery around the steaming man.

Types
Konomiya Hadaka Matsuri in Nagoya is a naked festival held around March. The original purpose of the festival was to drive away a plague. Today it is performed to get rid of bad luck and bring about good luck and good harvests. One person is chosen to be the lucky symbol of the festival, the Shinotoko. The Shinotoko is completely shaven and unlike his fundoshi (loincloth) brethren, he is completely naked. The other participants chase him in an attempt to touch him in order to receive good luck.

Participation
These matsuri often happen in one of two times of year, but rarely both times at the same place.
 * It is common that mud is involved in the festivities in some way, and this no doubt lends to the entertainment.
 * Hadaka matsuri held in summer tend to involve participants in loincloths carrying mikoshi, a sort of portable shrine.
 * Hadaka matsuri held in winter tend to involve ritual purification by water followed by a mass fight for a holy object (such as a stick, jewel, etc) that symbolizes the event.
 * Participants are often adult males, who try to cultivate a strong image; however, young boys and girls have been known at times to participate, and in this sense the festival can become a rite of passage for young participants. Most naked festivals limit participation to adult males, but many have separate events where youth may participate, allowing communities to pass their traditions from generation to generation.
 * Some locations are dedicated to young men's (or rarer still, women's) hadaka matsuris. This is more common in Western Japan.
 * Some places have changed their hadaka matsuri traditions, and switched to female sumo instead.
 * Like other festivals in Japan, hadaka matsuri have multiple forms of entertainment for spectators, including stalls with food and games, and taiko drumming. Tourists often travel to see the spectacle.

Controversy
The nature of these festivals, with their scantly-clad participants, is not usually an issue in Japan. In fact, when participants do get naked, it is usually considered a healthy, sacred act, and not indecent. However, some controversies do exist.
 * Safety among slippery mud and water, and due to exposure, can be a concern.
 * One looming problem for some festivals has been the participation of unsavory characters looking to gain monetary prizes. Some festival organizers claim that yakuza participant numbers have risen, leading to aggravated violence in what are supposed to be jovial bouts.
 * Some festivals, such as the Doro mochi tsuki in Tara, Saga have been more subdued in recent years, due to unwanted attention from the media, and the claim that people are forgetting the true, religious meaning behind the festival.