Nearly ten thousand scantily clad men gathered on the third Saturday night of November to take part in one of Japan's most eccentric festivals, held at Saidaiji Kannonin Temple in Okayama City.
The day-long 'Hadaka Matsuri' festival started at 10pm on Saturday after a priest threw bundles of twigs and two lucky sticks for the participants to tussle for them.
It's believed that those who manage to get the lucky sticks will enjoy good fortune for the rest of the year. Though this years' festival left the participants with only cuts and bruises, past festivals have seen some of the men crushed to death.
1 / 12
Men dressed in loincloths prepare to snatch a wooden stick called "shingi" tossed by the priest during a naked festival at Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture Japan February 15, 2020. The person who grabs the wooden stick is considered the "luckiest man of the year".
© REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon
2 / 12
A man carries a boy on his shoulders during a naked festival where men dressed in loincloths snatch a wooden stick called "shingi" tossed by the priest at Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture Japan February 15, 2020. The person who grabs the wooden stick is considered the "luckiest man of the year".
© REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon
3 / 12
Men dressed in loincloths march as they prepare to snatch a wooden stick called a "shingi" tossed by the priest during a naked festival at Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture Japan February 15, 2020. The person who grabs the wooden stick is considered the "luckiest man of the year".
© REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon
4 / 12
A volunteer firefighter wearing a protective mask, during the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, stands next to men dressed in loincloths during a naked festival at Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture Japan February 15, 2020.
© REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon
5 / 12
Men dressed in loincloths try to snatch a wooden stick called a "shingi" tossed by the priest during a naked festival at Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture Japan February 15, 2020. The person who grabs the wooden stick is considered the "luckiest man of the year".
© REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon
6 / 12
Men dressed in loincloths fall as they try to snatch a wooden stick called a "shingi" tossed by the priest during a naked festival at Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture Japan February 15, 2020. The person who grabs the wooden stick is considered the "luckiest man of the year".
© REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon
7 / 12
Men dressed in loincloths prepare to snatch a wooden stick called "shingi" tossed by the priest during a naked festival at Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture Japan February 15, 2020. The person who grabs the wooden stick is considered the "luckiest man of the year".
© REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon
8 / 12
Men dressed in loincloths react as a priest splashes water on them before they prepare to snatch a wooden stick called "shingi" during a naked festival at Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture Japan February 15, 2020. The person who grabs the wooden stick is considered the "luckiest man of the year".
© REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon
9 / 12
People in protective masks, during the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, watch a naked festival at Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture Japan February 15, 2020.
© REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon
10 / 12
A woman splashes water on men dressed in loincloths before they attend a naked festival where men dressed in loincloths snatch a wooden stick called "shingi" tossed by the priest at Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture Japan February 15, 2020. The person who grabs the wooden stick is considered the "luckiest man of the year".
© REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon
11 / 12
Men dressed in loincloths react as a priest splashes water on them before they prepare to snatch a wooden stick called "shingi" during a naked festival at Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture Japan February 15, 2020. The person who grabs the wooden stick is considered the "luckiest man of the year".
© REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon
12 / 12
First aid workers wearing protective masks, during the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, stand next to a man dressed in loincloths during a naked festival at Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture Japan February 15, 2020.
© REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon