Japan allows women to participate in ‘naked man’ festival for first time in its 1,250-year history

A shrine in Japan that organises the famous Naked Man festival will allow women to participate for the first time in its 1,250-year history.

A group of local women in Inazawa, in Japan’s Aichi prefecture, are all set to join the annual Hadaka Matsuri, held in February at the Konomiya shrine.

While the women will remain fully clothed and avoid the traditional violent clash of near-naked men in loincloths, they will participate in the naoizasa ritual, which will require them to carry bamboo grass wrapped in cloth into the shrine grounds.