F E S T I V A L ／ FEST-138
naked
Hakozaki-gū Tamaseseri (Sacred Ball Seizure Festival)
筥崎宮 玉せせり（玉取祭）はこざきぐう たませせり（たまとりさい）
D A T E2026-01-03
A New Year rite held on January 3 each year at Hakozaki-gū Shrine in Higashi-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture. Of a purified yin-yang pair of wooden balls, about 250–300 contestants in loincloths (shime-komi) fight for the yang ball as they parade about 250 m to the main shrine — a naked festival. Touching the ball is said to bring escape from misfortune and the granting of good luck, and it draws around 50,000 spectators. Said to have originated in the Muromachi period, it is a Fukuoka City Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property and one of the Three Great Festivals of Kyushu.
N O P H O T O
H I G H L I G H T S
Highlights
- 01Fukuoka City Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property; one of the Three Great Festivals of Kyushu
- 02Contest over the yin-yang wooden balls by 250–300 loincloth-clad participants
- 03About 250 m of procession divided into Land and Beach teams
- 04Belief that touching the ball brings good fortune
- 05About 500 years of tradition since the Muromachi period
D E E P D I V E
Deep Dive
R E F E R E N C E