Despite the festival’s name, attendees of this festival are not naked
Inazawa City, Japan:
Women formally took part in the so-called “Nude Festival” at a shrine in central Japan on Thursday for the first time in the event’s 1,250-year history, wearing purple robes and carrying a large bamboo box as an offering , chanting excitedly.
Seven groups of women take part in this ritual, which is said to ward off evil spirits and pray for happiness. Despite its name, participants are not naked.
Many of the women wore “Happi Coats” (hip-length robes) and shorts commonly worn at Japanese festivals, while the men wore only loincloths similar to those worn by sumo wrestlers.
One of the participants, 59-year-old civil servant Emi Tachibana, said: “I heard that women can participate, so I definitely want to participate to bring energy to the town and the festival.”
Naruhito Tsunoda, the shrine’s priest, said women had never been prohibited from participating and some had even made small offerings in their individual capacity before. However, when a women’s group asked last year if they could join, it was an easy yes.
“I believe the most important thing is to have a fun festival for everyone. I think God would be most pleased with that, too,” he said.
The women did not take part in the main event of the festival, which involves a large group of men clashing with each other to ward off evil spirits. Tsunoda said it would be difficult to open this part of the festival to women due to medical reasons.
Japan’s government said last year it would work to increase women’s participation in society after an annual report showed the country was working to close the gender gap.
The World Economic Forum’s report measuring gender equality ranked Japan 125th out of 146 countries in 2023, down from 116th in 2022.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
