Men Clash in Centuries-Old Naked Festival

Mar 01, 2026 | News On Japan

AICHI, Mar 01, 2026 (News On Japan) - The Konomiya Hadaka Festival, an unusual Shinto ritual dating back more than 1,250 years in which men wearing only loincloths collide violently with one another, was held on March 1st at Konomiya Shrine in Inazawa, Aichi Prefecture, drawing around 10,000 participants who surged toward a designated “sacred man” believed to absorb misfortune through physical contact.

The festival centers on the “Shin-otoko,” or sacred man, who is selected to shoulder the community’s bad luck for the year. It is believed that touching him transfers one’s misfortune, and as he makes his way through the shrine grounds, waves of men in white fundoshi loincloths press forward in a chaotic crush, shouting and grappling in a dramatic display of devotion.

The long-standing ceremony, formally known as a ritual to ward off evil, is regarded as one of Japan’s most intense winter festivals, combining spiritual belief with raw physical energy as participants seek purification for the year ahead.

Source: Kyodo

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