Miyagi, Japan Dec. 25 Wed 4:10AM
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The "Naked Man" Festival
The Dontosai, or Donto Festival, in Sendai has been celebrated since the Edo Period. During this festival, people bring New Year's decoration like pine branches, scared ropes, and good-luck dolls called daruma to shrines to burn them for good luck in the new year. Burning these relics sends spirits that gaurded families and individuals over the holiday back to the heavens with prayers. The largest of these festivals in Japan is in Sendai, and features the "Hadaka Mairi," or the Naked Pilgrimmage, where men dressed only in loincloths making their way to the shrine.
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