The Naked Man Festival in Japan
For those who would want to experience the unusual combination of mud, sake and almost, if not completely, naked men, then Japan’s Hadaka Matsuri or the Naked Festival in Saidaiji, Okayama is the best place to go. Going for over 1200 years, this Shinto festival involves adult males who wear minimum amount of clothing or usually just a loincloth called fundoshi and is celebrated throughout Japan during summer or winter every year. Over 9000 men gather together and attempt to touch the chosen Shin-otoko or Naked Man. Imagine, a huge mob of scantily clad men starting to throw sake at each other while desperately trying to touch the consecrated Naked Man (who tries not to get crushed by the crowd). At the end of the day with nothing but cuts, bruises, broken bones, and their beliefs, all that these happy men can say is that they will surely be doing it again next year.