Surprisingly Bizarre and Weird Festivals From Around the World

Hadaka Matsuri, Japan

Photos credit: Nakamura

A hadakamatsuri (In Japanese, “Hadaka” means “naked”, while “matsuri” means “festival”) or naked festival is regarded as the biggest Japanese festival held each year particularly during summer or winter time, in dozens of places throughout Japan. It is always held at the Konomiya shrine, which is situated in the centre of Inazawa, Japan. This festival dated back over 1200 years, in which it was held in several locations throughout Japan and it is believed to be originated in a decree issued by Emperor Shotoko in 767, who commanded the nation to offer prayers in order to dispel a plague.

Photo credit: Sato

The participants dress themselves in their Japanese loincloth or buttock-exposing giant nappies (called fundoshi), and sometimes with short happi coats, as they are handing ribbons to onlookers while getting pie-eyed on vats of sake (a type of Japanese liquor). Communal chants “washyoi! washyoi!” (It is translated to “enhance yourself”) and they start throwing buckets of water and sake into the steaming throng, in which, the scene, not only it reaches noise levels, but also it resembles a no-rule, naked, and violence act. Hidden somewhere in the midst of these people is one fully naked man wearing in fundoshi, a person who is randomly selected to be the Shin-otoko, or Naked man (Note: The selected candidate must be in the age of 20s, and he must stay in the temple three days before the festival. This decision is made so that a secret ritual can be performed to purify his body while expunging his sin). This naked man appeared to me as a local mafia (or in Japanese, yakuza), with his identifiable tattoos. The crowd crush together to touch this ordained naked man in the hope to transfer all their bad lucks, evil spirits or misfortunes to him. Most Japanese believe that touching him can bring good luck and happiness.

Up Helly-Aa, Shetland Island, Scotland

Image source

The Helly-Aa festival or the Fire Festival is held annually in the middle of winter in Shetland Island as a way to pay a tribute to the islands’ Viking Past, besides marking the end of the Yule season. Therefore, this fire festival carries the meaning of “End of the Holy Days”. On this day, a procession consists of a thousand guizers, and culminates with the burning of a 32-feet replica of a Viking longboat is held. The males dress themselves in flamboyantly decorated costumes as if they are like females in appearances, and thus someone has given it a joke name as “Transvestite Tuesday”.