This is Randi Hacker with another Postcard from Asia from the KU Center for East Asian Studies.

For some Japanese, getting naked in public with a few hundred of their closest friends is a fantastic way to spend a cold winter day. Dozens of midwinter “hadaka matsuri” – or “naked festivals” – take place annually. One such example is Chiba prefecture’s Mud Festival held each February. Scores of men clad in nothing more than a narrow loincloth gather at Musubi shrine to celebrate the New Year by getting down and dirty. At a signal, the guys jump into a giant mud pit for some good natured roughhousing. But this isn’t your ordinary run of the mill mudwrestling. No. It’s actually a Shinto ritual that gives guys a chance to play in the dirt to guarantee a good harvest and plenty of good luck. And maybe even get filthy… rich while they’re at it.

With thanks to Mindy Varner for this text, from the KU Center for East Asian Studies, I’m Randi Hacker. Wish you were here.