Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Traditional festivals - The tradition of Japanese men

The tradition of Japanese men

Because this custom is called Naked Body Festival, men wear crotch cloth to go out for a parade, and women can't participate. The Naked Body Festival in Japan, also known as "Huiyang Festival", is attended by all men. They can only wear traditional Japanese crotch cloth that day, almost naked, and there are also land parades and water parades. The climax of the water parade is to cross the local Guichuan River at high tide. At that time, you can see the scene of boys chasing each other, which is very shocking.

The third week of February every year is the busiest time. In the evening, more than 10,000 Japanese people will come to the water and take part in the "Wood Preservation Ceremony" naked. Baomu is made of Chinese fir, 6 inches long and 3 inches in diameter. People's obsession with precious wood dates back to 1300 years ago. According to legend, the Music Hall of West University Temple was just completed, and a monk from Nara introduced a ceremony called "Xiuhui" here.

At this ceremony, the monks wrapped the treasures of the temple with "Niuyu Paper" and put them behind the statue of Guanyin with a thousand hands, offering them for 14 days, praying for national stability, abundant crops and rich people. After the ceremony, the abbot gave the paper used to wrap the treasure to the elderly believers. The family that got the cow paper was really rich and well-fed within one year, so the believers came to compete for the cow paper every year, and the custom of Huiyang Festival was thus formed. By the Muromachi era 500 years ago, the fragile cow jade paper had evolved into precious wood made of Chinese fir. At that time, the host stipulated that two precious pieces of wood should be thrown away in the temple, and male believers were free to compete.

The land parade needs to find a streaker arranged by the organizer from all the streakers, and the person who touches him will bring good luck all the year round. When I stand upstairs and watch, I will find that the crowd below is like a boiling meeting. You squeeze me and I squeeze you, and I can't wait to touch the naked man in the middle.

People standing upstairs watching are often infected by this atmosphere, shouting under the dense lights, wishing they could rush in. When Baomu and naked people are robbed, the crowd will gradually form a circle and slowly walk out of the temple, and the ceremony will be over.