After him!

Can you imagine being the man in the middle of all this? It's a great honor to be chosen to be the shin-otoko - and more than a little terrifying! Injuries are not uncommon, and I think I even heard that deaths, while rare, are not entirely unheard of. The shin-otoko is selected by lot. First, anyone who is willing to be shin-otoko sends in their name. From all the willing, a few candidates are selected. One is chosen by the drawing of lots, thus allowing the gods to decide. There are some photos of last year's ceremony here.