Japan Naked Teen
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Japan Naked Teen
Karla Cripps and Emiko Jozuka, CNN • Updated 22nd February 2021
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(CNN) — This time a year ago, thousands gathered for Japan's annual Hadaka Matsuri -- also popularly known as the "Naked Festival"-- in Okayama prefecture in the southern part of Honshu island.
In today's climate of social distancing, the video highlights from last year's event (see above) are a surreal reminder of how much has changed since then.
Also known as Saidaiji Eyo, Hadaka Matsuri takes place on the third Saturday of February at the Saidaiji Kannonin Temple, about a 30-minute train ride from Okayama city. And this year was no exception.
But the Covid-19 pandemic has cast its long shadow over 2021 proceedings, forcing organizers to pare things down significantly.
Hadaka Matsuri celebrates the blessings of a bountiful harvest, prosperity and fertility.
In normal times, it starts mid-afternoon with an event for young boys -- aimed at fostering interest in younger generations. In the evening, the 10,000 or so male participants spend an hour or two running around the temple grounds in preparation and purify themselves with freezing cold water, before cramming themselves into the main temple building.
They aren't as naked as the festival's name suggests. They sport a minimal amount of clothing; usually a Japanese loincloth called a "fundoshi" and a pair of white socks called "tabi."
In this picture taken on February 18, 2017, worshippers wait for the priest to throw the sacred batons during the annual Hadaka Matsuri at Saidaiji Temple in Okayama.
BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/AFP via Getty Images
When the lights go out at 10 p.m., a priest throws 100 bundles of twigs and two lucky 20-centimeter-long sacred shingi batons into the crowd from a window four meters above.
It's a scene that would be unthinkable today. The men, packed in like sardines, jostle with each other to get hold of one of the bundles and/or the two sticks. Whoever succeeds is guaranteed a year of good fortune, according to legend. (The shingi are more sought after than the less-coveted twigs, which can be taken home.)
The whole event lasts around 30 minutes and participants emerge with a few cuts, bruises and sprained joints.
Visitors normally come from all across Japan and a few from abroad to take part.
But event organizers confirmed to CNN Travel that this year's Hadaka Matsuri event, which took place on February 20, was limited to only a select, socially distanced group of 100 or so men who had caught the shingi in past years, and was closed to spectators.
Rather than battle for the batons, the men gathered at the Saidaiji Kannonin Temple to pray for fertility, an end to the pandemic and world peace, while observing safety measures including social distancing.
As part of the Naked Festival, participants purify themselves with freezing cold water before entering the main temple.
Trevor Williams/Getty Images AsiaPac/Getty Images
Why not just cancel the entire event?
In a statement highlighting their reasons for going ahead with a severely downsized version of the festival, organizers noted that it's has continued uninterrupted for over 500 years.
"In discussion with the chief priest and committee members, we have reached the conclusion that we need to pray (for) Eyo now," said Saijaiji Eyo chairman Minoru Omori. Eyo relates to a term called "ichiyo-raifuku," which means "to withstand the harsh, cold winter and reach the warmth of spring."
"In other words, we pray for good luck after continuous bad things," said Omori.
The Naked Festival evolved from a ritual that started 500 years ago during the Muromachi Period (1338-1573), when villagers competed to grab paper talismans, which were given out by a priest at the Saidaiji Kannonin Temple.
More and more villagers wanted those lucky paper talismans and the ritual grew in size. But they realized that when they went to grab the paper it ripped. Their clothes just got in the way too, so they eventually did away with them and exchanged paper for wood, explained Mieko Itano, a spokeswoman from the Okayama tourism board, in a 2020 interview with CNN Travel.
With its long heritage, the festival was also designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Asset in 2016. It's one of several "naked festivals" held across Japan, with another held at Yotsukaido in Chiba prefecture, featuring men in loincloths fighting and carrying kids through mud as a method of exorcism.
Daily Covid-19 cases have been in decline in recent weeks in Japan, though Tokyo is among several prefectures under a state of emergency to control the virus. The country has reported more than 424,000 Covid-19 cases and more than 7,000 deaths.
The pandemic forced organizers to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics last year, with the games set to begin on July 23, 2021.
Tokyo officials are now grappling with the issue of how to pull off what could prove to be the most complex sporting event ever held -- one involving more than 11,000 athletes from more than 200 countries.
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So why do you get naked? 6 Japanese customs that shocked foreigners
Date published: 25 October 2020
Last updated: 10 November 2020
Are you listening more than they thought they would? “J-pop”
What I like most about Japanese culture is “Anime”
The thing I dislike the most is “hot springs and public baths”
*This information is from the time of this article's publication. *Prices and options mentioned are subject to change. *Unless stated otherwise, all prices include tax.
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Japanese culture with things such as anime , Japanese food , and hot springs , is one of the most popular in the world. What parts of Japanese culture do foreigners like, and what are they not comfortable with?
Today, we will talk about “Japanese customs that shocked foreigners” with answers extrapolated from previously published articles. (The following reflects only the opinion of the interviewees.)
“It's good that Japan has uniforms, because you don’t get judged by your clothes. In America, there are many private schools, so seeing the difference between the rich and the poor is easy, through clothing. Schools that use uniforms are mostly private, and children from rich families can pay high tuitions. In America, people wearing uniforms are from private schools, so uniforms convey the idea of wealth.” (America/woman)
In Japan we often listen to foreign artists' music, but we don’t think about J-pop being listened to abroad. However, there actually are a lot of people who listen to it.
“I've been listening to J-pop for a long time. I like Kana Nishino, Hikaru Utada, and Miku Hatsune.” (Taiwan/man)
“I also listen to Hatsune Miku. Ryuichi Sakamoto is also famous. I often hear his songs.” (Korea/man)
“I listen to ONE OK ROCK from time to time. They also did a live show in the US.” (America/male)
When it comes to Japanese culture, anime is a favorite. Anime has gained popularity all over the world, and anime expos are being organized in many countries, including the US, the UK, and Brazil. Anime has been selected as the #1 favorite aspect of Japanese culture, but which shows are being watched?
“I really love anime since my parents recommended I watched Evangelion.” (Korea/man)
“I, too like Evangelion and went to Fujikyu Highland to see the First Machine.” (America/woman)
“I like Gundam! I was impressed by the life-size one in Odaiba .” (Taiwan/man)
In addition, people watched famous works like Dragon Ball, Naruto, Sailor Moon that were popular when I was a child but also now! People knew a wide variety of genres.
While there were many customs people liked, other were shocked by this one.
“Isn’t Christmas something to celebrate with family? Is it a dating day in Japan?!” (America/woman)
Japan is good at rebranding things from around the world in its own way (Valentine's day, Halloween). Next one may or may not be Easter. We can safely say Christmas was a “pioneer”.
“Why do you have the tradition of eating KFC on Christmas?” (USA/male)
It seems that many things perplex foreigners when it comes to Christmas in Japan. It’s not only about it being a couples' day, but also about KFC.
Hot springs and public baths are places that Japanese can’t do without. It’s common and the normal way to enjoy them is to get naked and soak in hot water. However, foreigners often can’t get used to getting naked in front of strangers. Most people were embarrassed and did not want to enter the hot springs .
“I’m a little reluctant. I don’t want to be in the same bath with other people naked. I do use hot springs in Taiwan, but I wear a swimsuit.” (Taiwan/man)
“I would like it if I were alone, but not with friends. I don’t want to get naked in front of friends.” (USA/man)
“At first I was reluctant, but once you get used to it, it’s ok, I’m not embarrassed anymore. I've been to hot springs , but not to a public bath, so I want to try it.” (America/woman)
Especially men didn’t like being naked among other men. Most women said that they had gotten used to it after trying. Men seem that they would enjoy the bath by themselves, but not with other naked people around.
What I learned from these interviews is that there are people who don’t know public baths even exist. While public baths are decreasing, there are also places that are gaining popularity by introducing new herb baths, and mist baths, so I would like foreigners to experience the Japanese bathing culture.
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Thousands of men stripped off to take part in "Hadaka Matsuri", an annual "Naked Festival" on Japan's Honshu Island.
Thousands of men stripped off to take part in "Hadaka Matsuri", an annual "Naked Festival" on Japan's Honshu Island.
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Communal bathing has long been a part of traditional Japanese culture. Mixed-gender bathing, though, or konyoku , as it’s called in Japanese, is something that’s been largely phased out at hot springs and sento (public baths), with the vast majority of such facilities now having two separate bathing areas for male and female customers.
An exception is made for young children though, with Japanese society, for the most part, thinking it’s no big deal for a mother to take her young son into the women’s bath with her, or vice-versa for a father and daughter in the men’s bath. The question is what age qualifies as “young,” there’s now a new legal cutoff in Tokyo.
Previously, children as old as nine were allowed into the bath for the opposite sex, provided they were bathing with a parent or guardian, of course. As of January 1, though, the new age limit is six, meaning that once children hit the age of 7, boys are legally allowed only in the men’s bath, and girls the women’s.
The new ordinance comes in the wake of a survey by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare last spring which found 6 and 7 to be the ages at which the largest number of children felt embarrassed by being in the bath for the opposite sex. The ministry then recommended that lawmakers revise their jurisdictions’ regulations accordingly, with Tokyo, and a number of other municipalities, making the change at the start of 2022.
As the new policy went into effect, some parents at a public bath in Tokyo’s Higashikurume district weren’t happy about the stricter rules, as shown in the video below. A father who came with his three children, two sons and an eight-year-old daughter, was disappointed that the group won’t all be able to go into the bath together, as was the girl herself.
Another mother worries about sending her son into the men’s bath on his own when he turns 7, and the concern isn’t just about the child’s safety. In Japanese-style bathing, you’re supposed to thoroughly wash your body at a shower station so that you’re completely clean by the time you dip so much as a toe in the communal tub, in order to keep the shared bathwater clean. The mother wonders if a seven-year-old will be able to meet that standard of cleanliness without a parent present to double-check their self-washing skills. A still grubby kid jumping into the tub could cause discomfort for the other bathers as well as problems for the bathhouse’s staff if so much grime is tracked into the tub that it has to be drained and cleaned before customers can get back in.
However, the vast majority of commenters on the video have no problem with the new law, with some saying it doesn’t go far enough.
“Just gonna have to make sure your kids can properly wash themselves by the time they’re 7. That’s part of raising them right.”
“I’m fine with this. There was a startlingly old girl in the men’s bath one time when I went in, and I’m sure a boy that big in the women’s bath would have made them feel uncomfortable too.”
“I think they should make the age limit for being in the opposite sex’s bath even lower.”
“I think 3 or 4 years old should be the max.”
“It’s kind of a difficult question, since there are many kinds of family situations [such as single parents or families where both parents can’t come to the bathhouse at the same time because of work].”
“If it’s such a problem for parents, then they don’t have to come to the public bath in the first place.”
As alluded to by the last comment, though communal bathing was once more or less an unavoidable necessity of life in Japan, in the modern era it’s pretty much an optional way to get clean. Two or three generations ago, it still wasn’t all that unusual for Japanese homes, especially those of working-class families, to lack bathing facilities, meaning family members had to make regular trips to their neighborhood public bath. Nowadays, though, all but the most spartan of apartments have a bath/shower combo, so going to the sento is more a leisure activity than a cornerstone of anyone’s hygiene routine.
That shift in public bath usage habits is likely part of the reason why the age limit has now been changed, and even prior to the new rule going into effect, it was unusual to see nine-year-olds in the opposite sex’s bath. If going to a sento is a purely discretionary choice, then the question of what makes bathers’ time there comfortable and enjoyable becomes more important, and “That kid seems kind of old to be in this bath to me, but maybe he/she doesn’t have any other options” becomes a less likely conclusion.
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