Or just plain “Japanese Festival!!” to quote the many drunk men I encountered yesterday. 

Yesterday was a classmate’s birthday, so he invited us down to his home stay in Konomiya for a little lunch and to enjoy this festival that was occurring literally in his backyard. It did not take long to assess the situation as we walked from the station to his home. 

Loincloth clad men chant “Wasshoi, Wasshoi!” as they parade through the streets carrying heavy decorative poles, mini shrines, large wooden talismans, flags and in one instance, a fish. They are on a pilgrimage to the shrine (T=T shaped structure in the back is the entrance in the photo below) to meet the Naked Man. 

This Naked Man (literally and shaved clean) is the chosen one who absorbs the bad luck of those who touch him. 

Apparently the ages 23 and 42 represent the age of suffering for men, so those men in are especially present. The origin of this festival, however, was to rid the town of plague and disease by chasing the chosen one out of town. That’s silly, so these days it’s all about luck.

He comes out during the last hour or so of the festival and that’s when the chaos begins as nearly 10,000 men try to touch him. It’s brutal and there is water and sake constantly being thrown to tame the beasts and keep their skin slick to prevent injury on both sides. One of these guys had died before, so it can get quite serious. 

Before that crucial moment, however, it is quite light hearted and fun thanks to the blind eye Japan turns toward excessive drinking. This savvy police man tried his best to keep balance between the eager audience and the intoxicated participants who zig-zagged through the streets. Sometimes they would just crash into us and once the wave was so powerful, a friend and I toppled right over like domino.

For those who can’t participate in the festival, there is still a way to obtain good luck for the year. The participants sport headbands, arm bands and cloth on the poles that appeared to be color coordinated according to the group (by region, company, etc). They rip strips off and pass them out to the crowd and the more you collect, the more luck you have. I am a bit disappointed I wasn’t able to collect purple, but I was able to make a neat braid with what I did get.

It’s one of the top three festivals in Japan, so I am very happy that I was able to go. I had only gone to one other festival (Nagoya Matsuri) before, and it wasn’t nearly as memorable as this one. Another point that makes it special is that even willing foreigners can participate. If only I was a man.