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In 2018, around 8,000 men participated in the Saidaiji-eyo festival, while this year, an estimated 10,000 attended the festival held at the famous Kinryozan Saidaiji temple. These men, almost completely naked except for white loincloths, their bodies drenched in sweat despite the current cold weather in Okayama City, vied with each other for lucky amulets.
Participants wear only a single white loincloth called a Fundoshi and a pair of white socks called Tabi.
The Saidaiji-eyo festival, believed to date back to the Muromachi period, is now 510 years old. The Muromachi period, also known as the "Seven Dynasties Era," was a glorious period in Japanese history, approximately from 1336 to 1573. This period marked the rule of the Ashikaga Shogunate, officially established in 1336 by the first Shogun, Ashikaga Takauji. The Muromachi officially ended in 1573 after the 15th and last Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, was driven from Kyoto by Oda Nobunaga.
During the Saidaiji-eyo festival, men strip off all their clothes in the biting cold of Japanese winter. They wear only a white loincloth called a Fundoshi and a pair of white socks called Tabi. In such harsh weather conditions, participants compete for a pair of lucky charm sticks called Shingi.
Everyone will be vying for the pair of lucky charm sticks called Shingi.
At exactly 10 PM, the lights in the temple are turned off, and a priest standing at the window throws two lucky charm sticks, each 20 cm long and 4 cm in diameter, down to the crowd. Festival-goers scramble to grab the Shingi because, according to legend, whoever holds onto the Shingi the longest and manages to get the stick into the box called Masu will have good luck and happiness all year. Others try to touch whoever gets the charm, hoping to spread good fortune, before everyone returns to their seats in an orderly fashion.
The Saidaiji-eyo festival was recreated in the 2014 film *Forestry*. This festival has existed for over five centuries, originating at the Kinryozan Saidaiji temple and passed down through generations. Initially, participants vied for paper amulets, but because they were easily torn, they were later replaced with wooden sticks.
In Okayama City, during the coldest days of the year, usually February, thousands of Shinto men strip down, wear loincloths, drink sake for purification, then shout and run around to warm themselves up. They then dress in traditional clothing and step into a cold waterfall to cleanse their bodies before entering the sacred shrine to participate in the Saidaiji-eyo festival.
