The major Sominsai festival with a history of over 1,000 years was held for the last time at a Buddhist temple in the northeastern prefecture of Iwate on Saturday.
At Kokusekiji temple in the city of Oshu, there will be no more Sominsai because it became difficult to continue the annual event due a shortage of participants reflecting the graying of the local population.
Sominsai at the temple, often referred to as one of the most bizarre festivals in Japan, was an event held usually through the night during the Lunar New Year period to pray for an abundant harvest and good health. It was unique in that men wearing only loincloths competed for a hemp bag containing talismans.
The festival made headlines in 2008, when East Japan Railway, or JR East, refused to display a poster of the festival showing a man with thick chest hair, saying that it “could cause discomfort” to some people.
This year, the competition for the bag was held for the first time in four years after a break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the festival was shortened to between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. from the usual duration of all night.
Daigo Fujinami, 41, chief priest of Kokusekiji, said the end of the festival was decided because of the aging of the temple’s danka patrons and local residents, who are main participants in the event.
“I’m glad we were able to carry it out without a problem until the end. I’d like to thank all of those who cared about it,” he said.
“I still can’t believe” that the festival ended, said Soichiro Nagaoka, 57, a university employee from Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture. He said he participated in the festival about 10 times.