In my last post I promised a part two, covering the hadaka matsuri or “naked festival” I took part in for my birthday this year.

If you’re curious about the history/meaning of this festival, please see my previous post.

If you mainly just want to see weird pictures and hear about drinking booze and moshing around in the snow, please read on.

Just after changing and taking our first shots of Nihonshu (“saké”) for good luck.

The snow-laden path to the shrine, which all participants ran in nothing more than their traditional loin cloths, “fundoshi,” and rice straw, “wara,” sandals.

Entrance to Sumori shrine in Tochio, Tochibori district, Niigata. Everybody was chanting, hooting and hollering as they ascended the stone staircase approaching the shrine, with the front runners carrying giant ceremonial candles.

A couple short videos to bring you into the experience:

A video of the ensuing mosh pit in the shrine. The liquid you see flying around is not water to cool everyone down, but Japanese saké which was sprayed on participants, or poured into their open mouths.

Here one of the dudes in the temple told me to get on his shoulders. Note the hands slapping me as I ride around! Really wakes you up!

@nicksikorksi and I running back up the stairs to the shrine after a dip in the icy cold water of the Shinto purification pool below.

I ended up getting two of the wooden good luck talismans (“ofuda”) thrown by the priest from the small window near the ceiling of the shrine. It cost me a couple elbows to the head, but was worth it!

This was one of the most beautiful, strange,

and surreal birthdays I’ve ever had.

Participating in a hundreds-of-years-old festival, for a thousands-of-years-old religion, in a timeless ceremony symbolizing the human will to survive, and push for fertility, luck, and prosperity was really something else.

Plus, the comaraderie and booze-moshing suited my punk rock tastes just fine!

Wa-shoi!

~KafkA

!

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Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as DTube and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)