HADAKA MATSURI
by Heenali Patel
Mar. 23, 2013
A heap of round bodies squirms and squeals as the chilly night air descends
upon it. Its outer rim of pale exposed flesh shudders in the lantern light like
an inflated over-plucked chicken. Rolling down the streets, it passes crowds of
people who shuffle along under the shadows of rickety buildings, clutching
steaming buns and sticks that drip with jammy sauce. Buttocks jiggle, arms
flail, loincloths flash like crumpled smiles into the dark….
No, this isn’t a scene from a Heironymous Bosch painting. It is, in fact,
the somewhat less infernal Hadaka Matsuri, or Naked Man Festival. Yes, that’s
right, a festival for hoards of Japanese men to brave freezing temperatures in
barely more than their birthday suits.
The Naked Man Festival has a long tradition in Japan, with a deep well of
symbolism that goes beyond the surface of its wrinkled hindquarters. And if one
were to flip through a Japanese history book, references to nudity would come
hard and fast - from images of feudal peasants working fields unclothed, to
public baths peppered with naked bodies. Given these aspects of Japanese
history and culture, it would be easy to assume that nudity is commonplace in
Japan, and not necessarily linked to sexuality as it is in the West.
In “Pink Samurai,” Nicholas Bornoff writes: “At the two extremes of female
and male in popular culture, one finds the geisha and the sumo wrestler: the
dainty living doll standing for femininity and the mountainous icon of macho
flesh with the little porcine eyes.”
"Almighty
God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and
opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate
with joy the day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the
death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for
ever. Amen."
