Hadaka Matsuri
Hōnen Matsuri | |
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Participants receiving purification by water at the naked festival at Saidaiji in Okayama. | |
Observed by | Japan |
Type | Religious |
Significance | Celebrates the blessings of a bountiful harvest and all manner of prosperity and fertility |
Date | Third Saturday in February |
2015 date | February 21 |
2016 date | February 20 |
2017 date | February 18 |
2018 date | February 17 |
Frequency | annual |
A Hadaka Matsuri (裸祭り "Naked Festival") 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 rarely completely naked.
Naked festivals are held in dozens of places throughout Japan every year, usually in the summer or winter. The most famous festival is the Saidai-ji Eyo Hadaka Matsuri held at Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, where the festival originated. Every year, over 9,000 men participate in this festival[1] in hopes of gaining luck for the entire year.
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