Hadaka Matsuri Eyō
(Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, Third Saturday in February)

Believed to date back to the beginning of the 16th century, when people competed to obtain good luck talismans. After a Buddhist ceremony in the main prayer hall of the Saidaiji Kannon Hall, approximately 9,000 men dressed in loincloths engage in a fierce battle over two wooden sacred sticks tossed into the crowd by temple priests at midnight. The victors are believed to enjoy good fortune and happiness.