Japan’s ‘naked men’ festival in Iwate succumbs to ageing population: ‘difficult to continue’

The Kokuseki Temple in Iwate ended its annual naked men festival, which has become a heavy burden for ageing locals, who find it hard to keep up with the ritual

Japan’s society has aged more rapidly than most other countries’, which forced countless schools, shops and services to close, particularly in small communities

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Men dressed in loincloths prepare to snatch a wooden stick called “shingi” tossed by the priest during a naked festival at Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture Japan. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:15pm, 18 Feb 2024Updated: 3:36pm, 18 Feb 2024

A steam of sweat rose as hundreds of naked men tussled over a bag of wooden talismans, performing a dramatic end to a thousand-year-old ritual in Japan that took place for the last time.

Their passionate chants of jasso, joyasa (meaning “evil, be gone”) echoed through a cedar forest of the northern Japan’s Iwate region, where the secluded Kokuseki Temple has decided to end the popular annual rite.

Organising the event, which draws hundreds of participants and thousands of tourists every year, has become a heavy burden for the ageing local faithful, who find it hard to keep up with the rigours of the ritual.

Men prepare to snatch a wooden stick during a naked men festival in Japan. The person who grabs the stick is considered the “luckiest man of the year”. Photo: Reuters

The Sominsai festival, regarded as one of the strangest festivals in Japan, is the latest tradition impacted by the country’s ageing population crisis that has hit rural communities hard.

“It is very difficult to organise a festival of this scale,” said Daigo Fujinami, a resident monk of the temple that opened in 729.

“You can see what happened today – so many people are here, and it’s all exciting. But behind the scenes, there are many rituals and so much work that have to be done,” he said.

“I cannot be blind to the difficult reality.”