Hidaka Matsuri: Japan’s 1,250-year-old nude festival includes women for the first time
‘Washoi! Washoi!’ A cell of almost naked men marches forward towards the shrine fighting among themselves amidst the echo of slogans.
Washoi Washoi means ‘keep moving, keep growing’. This is the scene of the Hidaka Matsuri, or Naked Festival, which has barely changed over the past 1,250 years. The festival takes place every year at Konomiya Shrine in central Japan.
But this year there has been a change and it is a big change.
Away from the male crowd, a group of women also participated and this group was the first to participate.
The women who gathered here to participate in this event knew that they were making history. Making your mark in traditionally male-dominated spaces has been tough anywhere, but it’s even harder in Japan, as last year Japan ranked 125th out of 146 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Gender Inequality Index.
It’s not that women haven’t always had a presence there.
Direct participation for the first time
“Women have always worked hard to support the men at the festival,” says Atsuko Tamakoshi, a family member who has worked for the Konomiya festival for generations.
But in fact the idea of women participating in the festival never came up before. In this festival, men try to ward off evil spirits and pray at the shrine for prosperity.
Naruhito Sonoda says that there was never a real ban on women’s participation. It’s just that no one ever asked about attending.
And when they asked, the answer was simple.
He told Reuters news agency: ‘I think the most important thing is that it’s a fun festival for everyone. I think God will be even more pleased with it.
However, not everyone in the Japanese community is so inclusive.
Grandmother Tamakoshi, 56, explained: ‘There were many voices that expressed concern (about our participation in the festival). He said, “What is the role of women in men’s festival?” It’s a men’s festival, no joke.
“But we were all one voice in what we wanted to do.” We believed that God would help us if we were sincere.
Women’s clothing
The women who are waiting their turn are really sincere. She is participating but not with nudity.
Instead, many women are wearing white shorts with a ‘happy coat’, a purple dress. In this festival, men are only in diapers. They are carrying their bamboos on their shoulders for offering.
They will not be part of the great commotion that takes place during the male crowd at the shrine where people rush over each other to touch the shin otoku or ‘male god’. Shin Otoku is a person chosen by the shrine. According to tradition, touching it means warding off evil spirits.
Not being so in the case of women does not diminish the importance of the moment.
Yumiko Fujii told the media: ‘I think times have finally changed. But with this I also feel a sense of responsibility.
However, these women are not only breaking down gender barriers with their participation, but they are also keeping the tradition alive.
Another nudist festival was held this week at Kokoseki Temple in northern Japan. They say that this will be their last festival as there are not enough young people to continue the festival.
Japan is a country with a rapidly growing aging population. More than one in 10 people were aged 80 or over for the first time last year. Meanwhile it has a birth rate of just 1.3 per woman and only 800,000 babies were born last year.
In this case, the time has come for women to go to the shrine.
They stand in two parallel rows and carry long bamboos tied and wrapped with red and white ribbons to make offerings.
Atsuko Tamakoshi heads it, whistling a chant she has heard men chant for decades.
All the women join him in chanting ‘Washoi Washoi.’
The women are focused on their movements and speed because they have practiced it for weeks. They know they have to do it right.
She is aware that the eyes of media and spectators are on her, she is under pressure but also excited and she is smiling in this mixed situation.
Chants are also raised by the watching crowd. Some chant ‘gambate’ meaning keep going while it is freezing cold.
They enter the courtyard of the Konomiya Shinto shrine and, like the men, are splashed with cold water, making them even more excited.
After their offer is accepted, the women conclude the ceremony with a traditional Cornish call, two claps, and a final Cornish salute.
And then the women rejoice at the importance of this moment. They jump around and cry and hug each other. She thanks everyone and the crowd applauds her.
Michiko Ekai, who participated in it, said, “I just cried.” I wasn’t sure if I could make it, but now I feel a sense of accomplishment.’
When these women come out of the mausoleum, they are stopped by people who want to take pictures with them and the media also stop them because they want to interview them. And they are happily given this opportunity.
Meniko Akahori tells the media: ‘I did it. I’m very happy. I am truly grateful that as a woman I could participate in the celebration for the first time.
His friend and colleague Minako Ando added, ‘It feels great to be among the first to do something like this.’
“Times are changing,” says Hiromo Maeda. His family runs a local inn or hotel that has been hosting some of the men attending the fair for the past 30 years.
“I think our prayers and wishes are the same. It doesn’t matter whether they are male or female. Our passion is the same.
Atsuko Tamakoshi played a key role in this first celebration of women. Now they have time to reflect on what they have all achieved together. She is feeling both emotional and relieved.
“My husband has always participated in the festival and I was always a spectator,” she tells the media. Now I am full of gratitude and joy.