Japan has many regional festivals, and some are very strange. Within the set of strange festivals there is a subset of events called hadaka matsuri, which means "naked festivals." At these revelries men strip down to fundoshi (loincloths) and do weird things.
One of the most famous is the Saidaiji Hadaka Matsuri, which takes place on the grounds of the Saidaiji Temple in Okayama City at the end of February. Approximately 9,000 men gather in the courtyard of the temple in the middle of the night to capture a 20-cm length of timber called a shingi, meaning "sacred wood." The man who finds and keeps the lucky piece of lumber will have good fortune all year long and will be the "hero" of the city until the next festival.
Nice work if you can get it, which is why the festival has lasted 500 years and 17 generations of men in Okayama have made it a point to participate year after year. This week's edition of the documentary series, "Super TV" (Nippon TV, Monday, 9 p.m.) will take an in-depth look at the festival, which attracts upward of 30,000 spectators a year.