BIO E® World

Hadakambo Festival (Naked Man Festival) Hofu Tenman-gu Shrine, Hofu, Yamaguchi Prefecture One of the most famous 'naked' festivals in Southern Japan. Men dressed only in loincloths brave the cold to carry mikoshi (floats) through the streets of Hofu to the Tenman-gu Shrine.

Shichi-Go-San Festival The Making of Little Adults: The Celebration of 753 Nationwide Three, five and seven year-old children in their finest kimono are taken by their parents to shrines to pray for the children's future health and good fortune.

Karatsu Kunchi Festival Karatsu, Saga Prefecture Famous in Japan for its hikiyama floats. These are carried on the shoulder like ordinary mikoshi (i.e. floats) but are topped with outlandishly decorated fish, lions, samurai helmets and other paraphernalia. They lead a boisterous, saké-fuelled parade around the town.

Kikusui Matsuri Festival at Futaarayama Shrine, Utsunomiya, Tochigi Pref. Yabusame (horseback archery) is held at the shrine, twice from 9 a.m. and from 3:30 p.m. on both days. A parade of horen (a sacred palanquin) accompanied by armored warriors and Yabusame horses is held from 9:30 a.m. to around 3:30 p.m. on both days. In the case of heavy rain, the event will be canceled.

Kawagoe Matsuri Festival in Kawagoe, Saitama Pref., designated as one of the National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Assets., features a parade of 14 floats to the tune of Ohayashi festival music. The highlight of the festival is Hikkawase, in which the floats are pulled by townspeople jostling each other at three places in the city from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on both days.

Kusajishi-shiki, the Japanese archery ritual at Yasukuni Shrine, Kudan, Chiyoda-ku, is held twice from 11 a.m. and from 1:30 p.m., each lasting for about 40 minutes. The archers dressed in ceremonial robes shoot arrows at the targets (figures of a deer) according to traditional rites. In the event of rain, the ritual will be held in Nohgakudo Hall in the precincts.