Iwata City
September 2, 2000
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| Naked Men's Festival Iwata City September 2, 2000 |
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| What on earth is the Naked Men's Festival? In Japanese, it is called "Hadaka Matsuri," literally meaning naked festival. This takes place at Mitsuke Tenjin (shrine). Basically, all the men in the town get together in their posses and parade through town wearing thongs and grass skirts--this style is said to look like that of an ape. When they get to the temple, they start what looks like "slam dancing." I heard that in ancient times, the men would really be parading around naked! My colleague, Kumano sensei, was kind enough to go through the trouble of writing up the legend behind this festival. Please take a moment to read it! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Tracie and me with some apes . . . | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| At the entrance of the temple . . . | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Umai !!! (slang for delicious) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracie and I are inside the booth with the owners because I got so excited when I saw that they were selling one of my favorite treats: anko taiyaki (red bean paste cakes). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Men parading down the main street of the town. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Photo Album Main Page | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||