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Japanese Naked Man Festival

Radio 1's Chris Stark dons a loincloth and enters Hadaka Matsuri; a 500-year-old Japanese festival of naked men fighting over lucky sticks in a temple. Around 10,000 men take part in this extremely dangerous annual event, including local school teacher Jun who will be entering for the 13th time. If you get the sticks – thrown by a monk into the crushing crowd – it is believed you will enjoy good fortune in the year ahead. Nervous after discovering people have been badly injured and died at the festival, Chris is invited to Jun's friendship party and joins his team for a crazy Saturday night in rural Japan. Stark-naked participation and insane scenes, let the battle for sacred sticks commence.

English
  • Originally Aired March 24, 2017
  • Runtime 21 minutes
  • Production Code p04tm883
  • Network BBC iPlayer
  • Created August 8, 2018 by
    Administrator admin
  • Modified November 25, 2023 by
    markasack
Name Type Role
Ben Lowe Director