OKAYAMA (Japan): Six participants of the annual Saidaiji Eyo Festival, known as Hadaka Matsuri (naked festival), at Saidaiji Kannonin temple in Okayama, were injured and taken to a hospital at about 10pm Saturday (Feb 21).
Three of the six were unconscious when they were taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Okayama prefectural police are investigating the details of the incident.
In the festival, about 10,000 half-naked men wearing only fundoshi, a traditional Japanese undergarment, fiercely fight for two Shingi (God’s sticks) inside the temple’s main hall.
Whoever can grab one of the sticks by the end of the festival is believed to be blessed with good luck.
The festival has been designated as a Japanese Important Intangible Cultural Property. - The Yomiuri Shimbun
