SIMKIN: For most of the year, Kounoniya Shrine is a peaceful place but in the height of winter, religious ritual joins with drunken delirium to create one of Japans most extraordinary sights the annual Nagoya Nude Festival.
The celebrations begin solemnly enough, five men are competing for the chance to become a spiritual superhero, the Spirit Man, a type of Japanese exorcist able to absorb the sins of his city and enormous punishment.
The lucky candidate is Shoji Shibata, a professional bonsai farmer. Hes not allowed to show any emotion, understandable given what lies ahead.
SHOJI SHIBATA: Last year I applied but I missed out. This year they have allowed me to be the Spirit Man so I am very happy.
SIMKIN: Youre going to be beaten, frozen not to mention naked in front of the whole town and yet youre very happy about this. Why does it mean so much to you?
SHOJI SHIBATA: Thats right. As far as I am concerned, this is more important and more difficult than finding a wife.
SIMKIN: First stop is the barber for a very close shave. This is only the beginning. Every single hair on the Spirit Mans body must be removed. The idea is to turn him into a baby, hairless and pure.
SHOJI SHIBATA: I am now feeling very tense. Im starting to become aware of my responsibilities as Spirit Man and starting to think more about the festival.
SIMKIN: After changing into something a little less comfortable, the Spirit Man is escorted into the Shrine. He must spend three days praying, purifying and fasting. Outside the gates the build-up begins. Men from rival neighbourhoods gather at the Shrine. The temperature is close to zero. The thronged throngs are freezing their butts off and loving every minute of it.
GROUP OF JAPANESE MEN: Its cold, its cold!
JAPANESE MAN IN GROUP: Its very cold but my heart is warm.
ANOTHER JAPANESE MAN PARTICIPATING IN FESTIVAL: Now there is nothing that makes you feel as excited as this!
JAPANESE WOMAN WATCHING: [Laughs] Theyre vigorous and its fabulous.
SIMKIN: Nine thousand lion-cloth clad men are taking part, with one hundred and thirty thousand supporters cheering them on. Its an authorised escape from strict codes of behaviour, a celebration of local identity, an affirmation of the group. Thats why everyone is dressed or undressed the same. Removing clothes also removes hierarchies of profession and class. Those who are unable to participate, the frail and the female, give talismans to those who can. The festival is secret mens business. Women are strictly forbidden.
JAPANESE MAN: Its more important than my wife. Its a mens festival once a year. Only men can understand.
JAPANESE WOMAN: I want to participate! I want to. But even though Id like to, I cannot do it because Im too old and too embarrassed.
SIMKIN: Eventually, the Spirit Man emerges and the mayhem begins. Unlike his friends, Shoji Shibata is completely naked not that you can tell amid the seething swarm. The men desperately try to touch him, believing their bad luck will rub off.
JAPANESE MAN AT FESTIVAL: I want my body to be healthy. I want to exorcise the evil spirits and hope nothing will happen to hurt me. I want to gain profit at work its important!
SIMKIN: Its wet, its wild but its not unique. In fact nude festivals are quite common in Japan, particularly in winter when the weather turns cold, it seems many men feel compelled to prove their manhood by exposing it, then jumping in rivers, rolling in the snow or running around like this.
Japan prides itself on being modern, industrial but according to the Priests that run the show, traditional festivals are more popular than ever.
JAPANESE PRIEST: I often hear how Japanese people love their festivals. I think that even modern people still want to share their joy and come together and be united in their feelings.
SIMKIN: The Nude Festival is one of Japans biggest and oldest annual events. It dates back more than one thousand years.
JAPANESE PRIEST: The festival began when the Emperor personally ordered that people drive away the plague and other bad things from the country. It suggests that all people should be healthy and live in peace.
SIMKIN: Healthy and peaceful perhaps but injuries are common, deaths not unheard of. The Spirit Man cops most of it. Local firemen provide some protection using icy water to cool hot heads.
Todays Spirit Man gets off relatively lightly, in the bad old days a few hundred years ago, you didnt get to volunteer. The local people would chase, catch and kill a passer by. Now though after an hour of punishment, the Priests mount a rescue mission, a cross between bungy jumping and crowd surfing. Eventually the poor Spirit Man is dragged to safety.
SHOJI SHIBATA: I feel very thankful. Everybody protected me and I am happy that it ended safely. I kept everybodys voices of support in my heart. All I thought about was to carry out my duty with all my might.
SIMKIN: But his ordeal is not yet over. A few hours later, in the middle of the night, in the middle of the woods, the Nude Festival reaches its climax. By now the Spirit Man is barely able to stand. A black rice cake is attached to his back, a symbol of the citys sins. The Spirit Man does a few laps of the Shrine, is pelted with prayers and vanished into the night.
Finally he is free to go home, his duty done. Shoji Shibata is bruised and broken but well aware that in twelve months time hell be dishing out the punishment rather than receiving it.
The celebrations begin solemnly enough, five men are competing for the chance to become a spiritual superhero, the Spirit Man, a type of Japanese exorcist able to absorb the sins of his city and enormous punishment.
The lucky candidate is Shoji Shibata, a professional bonsai farmer. Hes not allowed to show any emotion, understandable given what lies ahead.
SHOJI SHIBATA: Last year I applied but I missed out. This year they have allowed me to be the Spirit Man so I am very happy.
SIMKIN: Youre going to be beaten, frozen not to mention naked in front of the whole town and yet youre very happy about this. Why does it mean so much to you?
SHOJI SHIBATA: Thats right. As far as I am concerned, this is more important and more difficult than finding a wife.
SIMKIN: First stop is the barber for a very close shave. This is only the beginning. Every single hair on the Spirit Mans body must be removed. The idea is to turn him into a baby, hairless and pure.
SHOJI SHIBATA: I am now feeling very tense. Im starting to become aware of my responsibilities as Spirit Man and starting to think more about the festival.
SIMKIN: After changing into something a little less comfortable, the Spirit Man is escorted into the Shrine. He must spend three days praying, purifying and fasting. Outside the gates the build-up begins. Men from rival neighbourhoods gather at the Shrine. The temperature is close to zero. The thronged throngs are freezing their butts off and loving every minute of it.
GROUP OF JAPANESE MEN: Its cold, its cold!
JAPANESE MAN IN GROUP: Its very cold but my heart is warm.
ANOTHER JAPANESE MAN PARTICIPATING IN FESTIVAL: Now there is nothing that makes you feel as excited as this!
JAPANESE WOMAN WATCHING: [Laughs] Theyre vigorous and its fabulous.
SIMKIN: Nine thousand lion-cloth clad men are taking part, with one hundred and thirty thousand supporters cheering them on. Its an authorised escape from strict codes of behaviour, a celebration of local identity, an affirmation of the group. Thats why everyone is dressed or undressed the same. Removing clothes also removes hierarchies of profession and class. Those who are unable to participate, the frail and the female, give talismans to those who can. The festival is secret mens business. Women are strictly forbidden.
JAPANESE MAN: Its more important than my wife. Its a mens festival once a year. Only men can understand.
JAPANESE WOMAN: I want to participate! I want to. But even though Id like to, I cannot do it because Im too old and too embarrassed.
SIMKIN: Eventually, the Spirit Man emerges and the mayhem begins. Unlike his friends, Shoji Shibata is completely naked not that you can tell amid the seething swarm. The men desperately try to touch him, believing their bad luck will rub off.
JAPANESE MAN AT FESTIVAL: I want my body to be healthy. I want to exorcise the evil spirits and hope nothing will happen to hurt me. I want to gain profit at work its important!
SIMKIN: Its wet, its wild but its not unique. In fact nude festivals are quite common in Japan, particularly in winter when the weather turns cold, it seems many men feel compelled to prove their manhood by exposing it, then jumping in rivers, rolling in the snow or running around like this.
Japan prides itself on being modern, industrial but according to the Priests that run the show, traditional festivals are more popular than ever.
JAPANESE PRIEST: I often hear how Japanese people love their festivals. I think that even modern people still want to share their joy and come together and be united in their feelings.
SIMKIN: The Nude Festival is one of Japans biggest and oldest annual events. It dates back more than one thousand years.
JAPANESE PRIEST: The festival began when the Emperor personally ordered that people drive away the plague and other bad things from the country. It suggests that all people should be healthy and live in peace.
SIMKIN: Healthy and peaceful perhaps but injuries are common, deaths not unheard of. The Spirit Man cops most of it. Local firemen provide some protection using icy water to cool hot heads.
Todays Spirit Man gets off relatively lightly, in the bad old days a few hundred years ago, you didnt get to volunteer. The local people would chase, catch and kill a passer by. Now though after an hour of punishment, the Priests mount a rescue mission, a cross between bungy jumping and crowd surfing. Eventually the poor Spirit Man is dragged to safety.
SHOJI SHIBATA: I feel very thankful. Everybody protected me and I am happy that it ended safely. I kept everybodys voices of support in my heart. All I thought about was to carry out my duty with all my might.
SIMKIN: But his ordeal is not yet over. A few hours later, in the middle of the night, in the middle of the woods, the Nude Festival reaches its climax. By now the Spirit Man is barely able to stand. A black rice cake is attached to his back, a symbol of the citys sins. The Spirit Man does a few laps of the Shrine, is pelted with prayers and vanished into the night.
Finally he is free to go home, his duty done. Shoji Shibata is bruised and broken but well aware that in twelve months time hell be dishing out the punishment rather than receiving it.