Japan: Women to take part in thousand-year-old ‘naked man’ fest for first time, but conditions apply

A shrine in Japan has allowed women to take part in the 'naked man' festival for the first time in the festival's 1650-year history, but conditions apply. The festival is organised by Konomiya Shrine in Inazawa town of Japan's Aichi prefecture. This Week in Asia reported that around 10,000 local men are expected to take part in the festival on February 22 this year.

What is the 'naked man festival'?

Unlike its semi-namesake 'The Burning Man', the 'naked man festival' or the Hadaka Matsuri festival doesn't have music bands making the masses groove but it has to do with good luck in the new year.

The festival has been a 'men-only' affair for more than a thousand years, and festivities reach a crescendo when thousands of them, dressed in nothing but a loincloth jostle to create a near-stampede like situation to touch the 'shin-otoko', or “god man”. Touching this man, a very real one, is believed to cleanse a person of his sins and bring good luck for a year.

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Needless to say the jostle of the almost naked men is mother of all rugby matches and wrestling combined. Women have traditionally stayed away from the Hadaka Matsuri fest. But the decision to allow them to participate is being seen as a welcome step.

This time women will be able to take part in other rituals related to the festival but not the jostling for touching the 'god man'.

“We have not been able to hold the festival like we used to for the past three years because of the pandemic and, in the time, we received a lot of requests from women in the town to take part,” said Mitsugu Katyama, who is an official of the organising committee as quoted by This Week in Asia.

He reportedly claimed that there was no explicit or active ban on women in past but they have chosen to stay away from the festival.

Now, a group of 40 women said that they will take part.

A local newspaper Yomiuri quoted Ayaka Suzuki, a local woman who said she wanted to take part in the celebrations since she was very young.

“I could have participated if I were a boy,” she told Tomiuri. She is reportedly vice chairman of the group of women wanting to take part in the fest this time.

(With inputs from agencies)