Yanaizu's Nanokado Hadaka Mairi

One of Japan's most famous Naked Man festivals

Stephanie Marley Feb 28, 2013 - 1 min read

The jostling men, awaiting their turn, and lending a hand.

Enzo-ji Temple. Within Enzo-ji, at the foot of a thick, woven rope which hangs from the second story rafters, await as many people who managed to squeeze inside: family members and locals hoping to share in the New Year fortune, and out-of-town visitors.

After the drunk, limb-locked men have cleansed themselves with freezing water from the temple's fountains, have thrown open the temple doors, they scramble up the rope to reach the gong at the top of the rafters for New Years good luck.

The festival is based on a folk story in which locals obtained a sphere with magical powers from a dragon living in the Tadami River, to fight disease in the village. They fought to expel the dragon who came to retrieve it.

The Totoro Catbus, Yan-aizu's Yuki Matsuri in February

Carp Steak at the Kawachi Ryokan, the town's largest accommodation right opposite the Saito Kiyoshi Museum of Art.

In a singular, quiet village in Fukushima Prefecture, local male citizens welcome the arrival of a new year in a fantastic way. Last year, myself and a few pals drove up to the village of Yanaizu, a small town famous for its yellow manju, the nationally esteemed modern artist Saito Kiyoshi, and its yearly Naked Man Festival, the Nanokado Hadaka Mairi, which is celebrated every 7th of January.

To win good luck for the new year, men participating in the Yanaizu Hadaka Mairi await the night's trial with sake (rice wine), strip naked down to a fundoshi (loincloth), and at the loud strike of the bell of Enzo-ji Temple, begin their barefoot climb through meters of snow and up 113 steps to a large Buddhist temple atop the Tadami River's steep bank.

Things to Do in Fukushima

Stephanie Marley @stephanie.marley

Hello! I'm Steph. I currently live in Fukushima-ken as a member of the JET Programme. Being a big fan of how the contemporary Japanese landscape still relates to pre-modern Japanese literature, religion, and society, I hope to share with you the historic and scenic delights of Tohoku.For more on ...