These are just the bare facts: Japan’s Somin-sai festival, better known as the “naked man festival,” has sadly come to an end after more than 1,000 years.
The festival, held annually on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, features hundreds men, gathering at the Kokusekiji Temple in Oshu dressed in loin cloths, who wrestle each other, per UPI. The big prize: a bag of talismans blessed by the temple’s chief priest.
“This decision is due to the aging of individuals involved in the festival and a shortage of successors,” Daigo Fujinami, chief priest of the Kokusekiji Temple, explained on the temple’s website. “While efforts were made to continue the festival to the best of our abilities, in order to prevent last-minute cancellations or disruptions in the future, the decision to cancel the festival itself has been made.”
Kikuchi Toshiaki, 49, this year’s winner and a member of the festival’s preservation association, tells NHK, “It is sad that the festival is ending. I participated in hopes that it would be a memorable festival.”