In Nakada, on the edge of Nagoya, men scramble again and again up slick bamboo poles in a muddy paddy field, sliding back into the mire until the poles finally give way – a small, rough-edged purification rite aimed at driving off bad luck in the yakudoshi years.
Hadaka Matsuri
Konomiya Hadaka Matsuri (Naked Man Festival)
Held in Inazawa and rooted in rites once performed to drive off plague, the Konomiya Hadaka Matsuri draws thousands of nearly naked men into a punishing crush of cold, contact, and purification.