F E S T I V A L ／ FEST-224

Kōtsubukae Yasaka Shrine Naked Festival

上津深江八坂神社 裸まつりこうつぶかえやさかじんじゃ はだかまつり

A rough festival of the Amakusa coast at Kōtsubukae in Reihoku Town, set on the midwinter sea. After the rite, at the blast of a conch horn, some 30 men of the Kōtsubukae youth association—wearing only loincloths—shoulder a vermilion-lacquered portable shrine and plunge straight into the cold sea, swimming about 300 meters along the shore as waves break over them, blowing conch horns and shouting 'Yoiya, Yoiya.' Emerging from the water, the group rushes into the homes of parishioners with bare feet still wet, sets namasu (a dish) on the shrine at the entrance, veranda and main room, and sprinkles sacred sake while praying for a year free of illness. Held around January 20, the coldest season of the year, it is a quintessentially Amakusa rite of striking physical intensity.