Naked Festival
Shin-otoko ( lit. god man/incarnation of god) Selection Ceremony

(January 2nd, 10:00 a.m. - 10:50 a.m.)

All the applicants meet at the Naoi-den (Naoi Hall) and
select a Shin-otoko by a lottery draw.
The Shin-otoko will stay in the Naoi-den for three days from January 10th of the lunar calendar
and is purified by Shinto rituals. .

In the Naoiden hall	Candidates enter the room	Three candidates (in 2005)	Ready for the ritual	Priests enter the room

The head priest asks them if they are healthy and tough.	The ritual begins	Purification of the priest	Purification of the candidates

Fateful lottery draw (He is taking a mikuji )

The second candidate drew a mikuji...	Checking the number	The second candidate drew the No.1 mikuji ! His face becomes very serious	The new shin-otoko was handed sashisadamefu from the shinto priest.	The priest and shin-otoko clap their hands together

Drinking sake	Shinto priest tells shin-otoko that he must keep clean and save himself in his daily life.	sashisadamefu is attached to a branch of sakaki (sakaki tree)	Hair-cutting ceremony. All his hair except his eyebrows will be shaved later.	Do media Interviews

Now he holds sashisadamefu (a certification that he is Naonin or Shin-otoko) He has to keep it in a clean place in his house. He also has to keep himself from all the unclean things until the end of the festival. Then he has to come and stay in the shrine on Jan. 10th of the lunar calendar with his relatives and this sashisadamefu.

Pictures taken in 2005






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