🏮 Hadaka Mairi

裸まいり

Yurihonjo, Akita (Niiyama Shrine) · Every year on the 3rd Sunday of January

125 days to go
Rooms around Yurihonjo, Akita fill up while the festival is on.

The Hadaka Mairi held in January at Shinzan Shrine in Ishiwaki, Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture, is a midwinter traditional event in which men from four local neighborhoods pray for a good harvest and household safety. About 90 people take part, charging up the roughly 2 km approach to the shrine building at the summit of Mount Higashiyama while shouting "Joya sa, joya sa." The participating men purify themselves with cold water in their respective neighborhoods, then set out wearing only hachimaki (headbands), haramaki (belly bands), tabi (split-toe socks), and waraji (straw sandals). Carrying sake barrels, cod, mandarin oranges, and kagami mochi (round rice cakes), they blow conch shells and loudly sing the stirring "Hadaka Mairi Song" as they climb the 103 stone steps to the shrine building. The powerful prayers in the severe cold and the vigorous way they run are the highlights.

Getting there

About 30 minutes on foot from JR Ugo-Honjo Station, or about 10 minutes by taxi. By car, about 15 minutes from Honjo IC on the Nihonkai-Tohoku Expressway. Use the temporary parking lot near the shrine.