F E S T I V A L ／ FEST-265
Aoshima Shrine Hadaka-mairi (Naked Pilgrimage)
青島神社 裸まいりあおしまじんじゃ はだかまいり
The Hadaka-mairi (naked pilgrimage) of Aoshima Shrine is a midwinter sea-purification (misogi) rite held every year on Coming-of-Age Day at Aoshima Shrine in Miyazaki City. It commemorates the legend in which villagers, overjoyed at the return of Yamasachihiko (Hikohohodemi-no-mikoto) from the Sea God's Palace, rushed into the sea half-naked to welcome him without even taking time to dress. Men wear a white headband, a fundoshi loincloth and white tabi socks; women wear a white headband, white T-shirt, white shorts and white tabi. Participants immerse themselves in the freezing sea to purify body and spirit, then worship at the main hall of Aoshima and finish by pouring buckets of water over their heads on the approach. Open to parishioners, locals and the general public alike, the rite draws some 400–500 participants from across Japan, including children, the elderly and women. A mass misogi in the midwinter sea is exceedingly rare among Shinto rites, and the sight of hundreds of white-clad figures on this subtropical sacred isle, ringed by the "Devil's Washboard" wave-cut platform, is spectacular.
H I G H L I G H T S
Highlights
- 01Hundreds of people of all ages in loincloths and white garb entering the midwinter sea together for misogi purification
- 02Ritual gestures based on the myth of villagers welcoming Yamasachihiko naked on his return from the Sea God's Palace
- 03A final cleansing in which water is poured over the head on the approach, set against Aoshima's sacred precinct ringed by the Devil's Washboard
D E E P D I V E