News Women to participate in a Naked Festival for the first time

The women, who will be fully clothed, will make ritual offerings of bamboo grass but will not be part of the festival's momiai climax, in which men dressed only in fundoshi – a type of traditional loincloth – tabi socks and hachimaki bandanas clash with each other as they attempt to transfer their bad luck to a "chosen man" by touching him before he is withdrawn to the safety of the shrine. Ayaka Suzuki, who campaigned for the unofficial ban on women to be lifted, said she had wanted to participate in the festival since she was a child. "I could have participated had I been a boy," she told reporters, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper. Suzuki added that she would use the opportunity to pray for her family's safety and those affected by the recent deadly earthquake on the Noto peninsula. Organisers of Japan's myriad festivals have come under pressure to open them up to all comers amid concern that rural depopulation could end events traditionally dominated by local men. This month, women participated in the Katsube fire festival in Shiga prefecture for the first time in its 800-year history. But organisers of the Somin-sai – which also features minimal clothing – in the north-east town of Oshu announced last month that the event would be held for the final time this year.

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Lothor said:

'The women, who will be fully clothed'. I couldn't help feel a twinge of disappointment when I read that!

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nice gaijin said:

I went to the Hadaka Matsuri at Saidaiji in Okayama some years ago (back in 2010). It was a cold night in February and we passed groups of men wearing nothing but fundoshi and tabi sucking on cigarettes as if the embers themselves would keep them warm. The crowd took its place all around the temple grounds to witness the event.

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Lothor said:

'The women, who will be fully clothed'. I couldn't help feel a twinge of disappointment when I read that!

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nice gaijin said:

I'm all for equality but I can't really fathom why women would want to join. To me it seems like a bad idea to be fully clothed, as it could be hazardous to both the women and the men around them. It'll be interesting to see how this pans out.

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Women officially joined a so-called "naked festival" at a shrine in Aichi Prefecture on Thursday for the first time in the event's 1,250 year history, donning purple robes and chanting excitedly as they bore a large bamboo trunk as an offering. Seven groups of women took part in the ritual which is said to drive away evil spirits and where participants pray for happiness. Despite its name, those taking part are not naked. Many women wore happi coats (robes that reach to the hips) and shorts that are typically worn at Japanese festivals, although men just wore loincloths similar to those worn by sumo wrestlers. "I heard that women could participate so I definitely wanted to take part to help bring excitement to this town and festival," said 59-year-old civil servant Emi Tachibana, one of the participants. Naruhito Tsunoda, a priest at the shrine, said there had never been a ban on women participating, and some had even made small offerings as individuals before. However, when a women's group inquired last year if they could join, saying 'yes' was easy. "I believe the most important thing is for there to be a fun festival for everyone. I think God would be happiest about that too," he said.

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