ONEIGASHIMASU!

This is a scene that I first thought was really entertaining, but the more I think about it the more sad it is to me. After everyone else had left, this man remained - an older guy, at least in his seventies I would say. He sat on his knees outside the door where the shin-otoko had entered, shouting...pleading. I only understood one word: "oneigashimasu." This means, roughly, "please do this for me." If the waitress comes around with a coffeepot and asks if you'd like more coffee, you say, "onegaishimasu." If a deliveryman comes to your house, you say "oneigashimasu" as you buzz him in. As far as I could tell, this man was begging the shin-otoko to return and let him touch him. "He's had too much sake," I thought, amused. But he wasn't giving up; he kept sitting there, kept yelling. Amusement replaced with pity: this old man sitting naked in the mud, either so guilty or so unlucky that he's willing to humiliate himself in the slim hope of having this burden removed from him, this desperate fear of the gods' malice. What's so ironic is that he has the right idea - there is a shin-otoko, a god-man, who really can wash away our evil deeds, our unkindness and anger, and even our fear. "Day after day, every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest [Jesus] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, [his job done]...For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." (Source here.) Year after year, men gather here in a vain attempt to shed their bad deeds and bad luck, some for sport and some from fear - never knowing that the deed has been done! There's no need to stand out in the cold (fun as it is): all of our badness has already been heaped upon the real shin-otoko, Jesus; he was sacrificed and punished and actually killed on our behalf; he showed that this dark, powerful force of death could not conquer him... He loved us - and still does! - with an absolutely perfect love that drives out all fear. (More on this here.) Stand up, little man! This isn't a gift you need to beg for! The real shin-otoko loves you with a love beyond anything you can imagine. 

It Ain't Over Till the Fat Lady Sings

Or so these guys seem to think. Give up, guys! Go home! Put some clothes on! Does your mother know that you're out in this cold without a coat on?? :)

The Thinker

Just contemplating the events of the day... 

And that's it!

Before I really even knew what was happening, it was over and the place was clearing out. Can you believe how wet the courtyard is? 

Get him!

The crowd goes wild... 

I'm curious...

Such incredible effort to reach this guy! I wonder how many of the participants did this on a lark and how many really believed that the shin-otoko could take away their "bad luck and evil deeds." For more background on the Hadaka Matsuri festival, click here. 

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.

Suddenly!

Things start to get rowdy! The shin-otoko is coming! To be honest, I wasn't actually sure what was going on at this point except that the crowd got a little noisier. The courtyard was so packed that I really couldn't see a thing! All of these next pictures are "point-and-prays" - I held the camera over my head and hoped that one or two would turn out! Incidentally, do you notice the steam rising from the crowd? No fog machines here, baby, that's the real deal - cold buckets of water on hot naked bodies! Yikes! 

In the Name of Efficiency

But buckets must not have been enough, especially near the door where the shin otoko was going to enter. This unique sprinkler system ensured that no dry person would touch the shin otoko. 

River of Life??

The bucket brigade wasn't slacking off! They splashed so much water around that they created a river in the spectator area - and soaked almost as many spectators as participants! 

The Line

The arrival of the bucket brigade announced the end of all sanity. Up to this point, I thought the festival was a little nuts, but not all that much crazier than the guys who paint their bodies blue and go shirtless at football games in late November. Then the bucket brigade started tossing water over all the participants, supposedly to chill them out (haha, pun intentional!) before the shin otoko arrives. No thanks! 

It's all fun and games...

Until somebody has a little (lot) too much sake and can't stand up anymore... This is the second guy we saw who had passed out. The first one was lifted over the plywood retaining wall right in front of us. I couldn't figure out why no-one really seemed to want to help him at all - he was being dumped onto sharp gravel, ouch! When he came to, though, he went nuts, running, screaming, waving his arms around. Yikes! 

Waiting Comfortably

Next time he'll tuck his folding chair in his loincloth. 

Baby...

It's COLD outside!!! We were relatively comfortable in our winter coats and scarves, though I did put some foot-warmers in my shoes. These guys have been out here for hours at this point... and I wonder if the sake just might be wearing off. :) 

Another Cheer

Hip, hip, hoorayyyyyy! 

A Family Affair

So the next weekend your family doesn't have anything planned... get out the loincloths and run aroud town! 

Whoops!

Buddy here almost lost his loincloth. His friend took the loose fabric, wound it back around the butt-thong, gave it a great YANK, and tucked it back in. Youch!!! It did not look comfortable. Mariko told me that these loincloths are what men used to wear as underwear in old Japan, back in the days when everyone wore kimono. It doesn't look very comfortable! 

Getting in Position

These guys are determined not to miss a thing! They've positioned themselves right next to the door where the shin-otoko will end his career as sin-bearer, though he's still a long way off. At this point, that big empty courtyard is beginning to fill up. 

Trees, Trees, Trees

The "tree" part of this festival went on for a long time - a couple of hours. We arrived shortly after three and the tree parades continued until five or five-thirty. The town where this is held is really a suburb of Nagoya, only ten minutes or so out of the city center. So it's really strange to think that I probably sat beside some of these guys on the subway in their other life: black suit, dark tie, eyes straight ahead, and oh-so-serious. Weird!!! 

Family Affair

Like father, like son! I was really suprised at how many young children (boys, of course) particiated in this event! The kids didn't generally tend to be in the thick of it, but sometimes they were running with the men bringing in the trees.