Whether or not you found the full-frontal nudity of Watchmen’s Dr. Manhattan to be off-putting, you must understand one thing: you got off easy. Japan’s Hadaka Matsuri, or “Naked Festival” is a regular event that takes place in January, wherein typically male participants strip down to a fundoshi, or loincloth, and essentially cavort and carouse right there in the street.
As you’d expect — or maybe not, considering the insane shenanigans that occur on a regular basis in that lovely country — there is more to the Hadaka Matsuri than just scantily-clad men forming up in groups and running about chanting “Washoi” to the assembled crowd (incidentally, a friend who spent a few years in Japan teaching English has confirmed for me that “washoi” is a word specifically made when carrying a float in a festival — one of those odd vocalizations that has no English counterpart). This festival marks a cleansing or purification event where the new year is ushered in by males of a range of years proving their manhood by braving the wintry temperatures without the benefit of cold weather gear.
Now, the “naked” part is more symbolic than anything, though some types of these festivals do feature a ritual wherein a male volunteer is stripped of all clothing and shaven, then must make his way through a gigantic crowd of half-naked men to a particular shrine at the end of a given street. Though the temperatures in Japan in January are undoubtedly frigid, one must also remember that a crowd of sufficient magnitude will generate a lot of BTUs, doing a fairly good job of providing enough warmth to keep the unprotected from freezing to death. Even more so when the crowd in question is hopped-up on sake!
If this sounds like your kind of fun, prepare yourself for next year by running around naked in your own hometown! Just watch for local police — some people just don’t understand these kinds of spiritual matters.
Comments
No comments.