Owari · InazawaNo.1262★★Open in map →
Konomiya Hadaka Matsuri
— Naked festival at the old head shrine of Owari
On the thirteenth day of the lunar New Year, men in white loincloths fill the approach to Owari Okunitama Shrine in Inazawa. They surge toward one chosen man, the shin-otoko, who takes the year's misfortune upon himself.
- FromMeitetsu Nagoya Station
- 1 train + 3 min walkMeitetsu Nagoya Main Line
- Get off atKonomiya Station (Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line)
- On foot
- Konomiya Hadaka Matsuri
The sweet spot
Nobody would call this festival hidden: the crowd is the point, and the push around the shin-otoko is the image it is known for. What gets missed is the rest of the day. The bamboo offerings arrive through the afternoon, and before dawn the next morning comes the rite regarded as the most important of all.
Where it is
27 more notes in Aichi · open the map →What to look for — in walking order
- Sando approachthe approach road to the tower gate, filled with bamboo-carrying groups and onlookers on festival day
- Romon tower gatethe two-storey entrance gate, one of the shrine's two nationally protected buildings
- Haiden worship halla gabled hall with rows of pillars inside, where the naoi-zasa are offered
- Naoiden hallwhere the shin-otoko stays three days and nights to purify himself before the festival
How to actually get there
- Meitetsu Nagoya Station → Konomiya Station (Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line, toward Ichinomiya and Gifu).
- Konomiya Station north exit → the shrine approach (walk ~3 min).
- Through the tower gate to the worship hall, where the naoi-zasa are offered.
- Stay into the evening for the shin-otoko's entry, then walk back to the station.
- Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line to Konomiya
- From Meitetsu Nagoya Station, ride the Nagoya Main Line toward Ichinomiya and Gifu and get off at Konomiya. The shrine is a 3-minute walk from the north exit.
- Back from Konomiya Station
- Walk back to the north exit and take a Nagoya Main Line train toward Meitetsu Nagoya. On festival day, allow extra time for the return.
About the place
The festival's formal name is the Naoi Shinji, a rite for driving out misfortune. At its centre is the shin-otoko, a volunteer chosen by lot. Thousands of men gather in white loincloths and white tabi socks, and each tries to touch him, because contact is said to shed bad luck. Earlier in the day, groups from each district carry naoi-zasa to the worship hall. These are bamboo branches tied with cloth strips, each strip bearing the name and age of someone who cannot strip down and join in, so the bamboo carries their wishes for them. The crush ends when the shin-otoko is pulled into the Naoiden hall.
How to enjoy it
The rite begins at 15:00, with the bamboo groups arriving through the afternoon, and toward evening the shin-otoko plunges into the crowd. At 3:00 the next morning comes the Yonaoi rite: he is sent out of the grounds carrying the dobei, a rice cake into which misfortune is said to have been pounded, and the cake is then buried.
Background & history
In the Nara period the shrine stood beside the provincial government office, which made it the soja, the head shrine of Owari Province. The festival is said to go back some 1,250 years, to when Empress Shotoku ordered prayers against epidemics at provincial temples across Japan and the governor of Owari held them here. The tower gate dates from the early Muromachi period and the worship hall from the early Edo period; both were made Important Cultural Properties in 1955. In 2024 women joined for the first time, carrying naoi-zasa in happi coats.
Before you go
- Cash
- Aichi Prefecture's official event listing gives no viewing fee. Before the festival the shrine offers naoi-gire cloth strips, so you can have a name and age tied to the bamboo without taking part; see the shrine's site for the offering amount.
- Before you go
- For three days around the festival, traffic is restricted near the shrine and its car park cannot be used, so come by train. The date follows the lunar calendar and changes every year; check the shrine's announcement for that year.
- Another way
- From JR Nagoya Station, take the JR Tokaido Line to Inazawa Station, then walk about 15 minutes to the shrine.
- After you get off
- Leave Konomiya Station by the north exit; the shrine is about 3 minutes on foot.