Sticks Around: The Naked Festival裸体节

① The Japanese are no prudes正人君子 about revealing展现 their flesh.

② Anyone taking a dip at onsen温泉️, or public baths, will have only a small towel for protecting modesty遮羞; sumo wrestlers相扑选手 tussle扭打 in only the skimpiest节省 togs衣服.

③ Little surprise, then, that Japan has a festival dedicated to baring裸露 (almost) all.

④ The showpiece展示机会 of the centuries-old annual pageant庆典, taking place today, is a mêlée混乱的人群 of up to 10,000 loincloth遮羞布-clad身披 men.

⑤ The competitors first purify their bodies by running through fountains of icy water, before gathering at the Saidai-ji temple.

⑥  The lights are switched off, and the temple's priests hurl 100 coveted梦寐以求的 bundles of sacred sticks, and some decoys假冒品, into the crowd.

⑦  One pair, the shingi, is especially valuable: whoever catches it and thrusts it into a box of rice wins the title of "lucky man" for a year, as well as a cash prize—an honour worth the cold and the crowd.