Japanese Baptism

Today was my best day in Japan.

Tons of adorable babies, nearly naked men, strong community bonding...all things I love! I had the good fortune to attend the Hadaka Matsuri out beyond Chiba, a celebration of children, community, hope, purification and sake. Basically the event started like this: at one o'clock sharp, as we were approaching the shrine area, there were 5 loud explosions above our heads. We knew the excitement was starting. The Japanese are nothing, if not punctual.

When we arrived, the men were in a tight group right in front of the shrine entrance, donning their loin cloths and holding babies in their arms. They then paraded the babies in a long line, through the lovely winding wooded path and down to the muddy pond. I crouched down behind a wooden fence, stuck my camera between the wooden slats and took pictures of the men lovingly holding these cute, tiny Japanese bundles. At this point, the babies were mostly quiet, surprised, and happily going along for the ride. At the pond, the men dipped long straw sticks into the mud in the pond, and smeared, dotted, and dripped it onto the faces of the babies. So much like Baptism. It is a gesture meant to purify the children and to insure their happy healthy life and good fortune. As the men carried the babies back up the hill to the shrine, there were a few little ones who were starting to realize that the naked man carrying them was NOT MOM, and that pond mud in February is COLD. They began to squall. A few minutes later, back down the path they came, in the arms of another strange (NOT MOM!) naked man, and the squalling increased in volume. The men were still lovingly, patiently cradling these little babies in their arms. I was captivated by the men's smiling faces, and tried to capture their beatific expressions. It was very moving.

By the 3rd and last pass to the pond, most of the babies were now terrified, (AND YOU! YOU ARE ALSO NOT MOM!) and screaming their heads off. I also noticed that many of the men were now wearing ear plugs. Maybe they had been wearing them all along, I'm not sure. But maybe that's the reason they all seemed so... serene, and unaffected by the decibels that were blasting them in their faces.

After the babies were lovingly traumatized 3 times, they were delivered back to their parents' arms. The men disappeared. We heard some chanting and roaring through the woods from the shrine, and I presumed they were downing their first round of sake. Then down the path they came, chanting loudly and heading towards the frigid pond. They waded in and formed small groups. One guy climbed up onto the shoulders of his group-mates and they all moved toward each other.

"A-ha!" I thought, "This is it! The culmination of the purification ritual...a GIANT GAME OF CHICKEN!" And indeed it was.

They crashed into and pushed on each other- most of the guys fell in and got wet and muddy. They flung wads of mud at each other and splashed for a minute and then they all got out and headed back up the hill to the shrine. BUT- here's the best part. As they walked by the assembled crowd, they bestowed muddy blessings on random spectators. It is considered very good luck to receive a smear of mud from these guys, and so when I got smeared, I was ecstatic. I took a picture of myself! Suddenly, I was the center of attention. The locals who were there with cameras were really interested in a gaijin who had been purified at their community festival. I suddenly felt like a celebrity, as their cameras clicked away at my happy smiling muddy face. They were smiling too. Heck, everyone was smiling (except for the babies)at this wonderful community feel-good event.

Chanting, more roaring, stomping feet, down they came again. Another giant game of chicken purification, more slinging, splashing, falling. It was delicious to watch. On their way back to the warming fire and sake at the shrine, I got smeared AGAIN! How lucky can I be?! Took another gleeful picture. As soon as the locals noticed that nearly everyone in our gaijin group had been smeared, there were probably 50 people who came at some point and took our picture. A little old lady in her 80's wanted to get in on the action and posed with us. More pictures. It was pretty thrilling. I felt like I was on the red carpet at the Oscars, except for my clothes, hair, make-up and the mud on my face.

We moved up onto a wall for a better vantage point for the 3rd and final game of chicken. Now the guys were drunk, the cold didn't seem to bother them anymore, and the mud slingingsplashingfallingfacefirst in the pond was even more fun to watch. Finally they made a huge squidgy circle, and chanted and clapped rhythmically together, signaling the end of this fantastic festival.

The after party was held up at the shrine. There was a roaring fire, some of the guys were still standing around, drinking sake out of the biggest (and muddiest) sake bottle I've ever seen, and relishing their celebrity. If I felt like a movie star, I can only imagine how they enjoyed the attention. One guy in particular- a very large man- was very good at mugging for the camera. He was a master at entertaining the crowd.

I was so happy to be there. It might have been the combination of the sun, the woods, the smiling faces, the wood smoke, mud...the earthiness of it all. I was keenly aware of the fact that these people love their children. They love their community. They delight in their life cycle celebrations- and they have many throughout the year. I got the opportunity to peek into a suburban community much like my home town in Upstate NY, but with a Japanese face. It made me absolutely adore these people.

This was my best day day in Japan.

To see the event through the lens of a friendly Japanese guy with a really good camera, go to:

http://egao.hp.infoseek.co.jp/