[What day is it today? | Tohoku Edition] What day is January 8th?

Hirakasa Naked Pilgrimage (Iwate Prefecture)

Every year on January 8th , the "Hirakasa Naked Pilgrimage" takes place in Hachimantai City, Iwate Prefecture

Starting from Miyata Shrine in Hirakasa, the procession travels a distance of approximately 10km to Yasaka Shrine in Osara, and by undergoing this difficult and painful practice in the cold, participants pray for good health, safety for their families, and a bountiful harvest

Before the war, it was performed by men, but during the Pacific War, women who were protecting their homes began performing it to pray for the continued good fortune of their husbands and sons in battle, and it became famous nationwide as a unique "ascetic practice for women."

NEFT Editorial Department

This is the NEFT editorial team.
Articles written by our editorial team and articles by anonymous writers are published here.