Every January at the Teppozu Inari shrine in Tokyo, this purification ritual is performed.
Japan (AFP) .- A score of people bravely took turns and got into an ice bath on a cold Sunday morning at the Teppozu Inari shrine in Tokyo to purify their souls and wish good health for the new year. The mostly male participants wore traditional loincloths, while a handful of women donned fine white robes to join the annual Shinto ritual at Teppozu Inari Shrine.
After some physical warm-up and chanting, the contestants dove into a tub filled with cold water and large blocks of ice while the media and audience watched from the sidelines.
Twelve-year-old participant Dan Tsuzura shivered at first because the water was so cold, but “it got warmer as I got used to it,” he said.
The 48-year-old participant, Kyoko Maihama, joined the annual ritual to pray for world peace and for herself: “I participated in this ritual every year to remember that I am who I am (and there is no need to compare yourself to others). ”.
The Shinto ritual was carried out under a temperature close to 8 degrees Celsius.
Every January in the mentioned sanctuary this purification ritual is carried out: the faithful pray submerged in ice water. For two years they have been praying for the end of the pandemic, but this ritual began almost 70 years ago. The place was attended by parishioners who participated in the traditional and particular New Year’s Shinto ritual. In this way, men and women immersed themselves in a bath of ice water to welcome 2022 in the sixty-seventh edition, which is repeated on the second Sunday of each year.
They wore a ribbon on their foreheads, with the ‘fundoshi’ -traditional Japanese underwear- and this year also with a mask, which are required by the health protocols established in the Asian country.
After some warm-up exercises, the participants submerge themselves for one minute in a tank of water that is at seven degrees; Once inside, they continue performing the ritual. With fewer participants in the Shinto ritual they made the water cooler.
Before the pandemic, the event brought together about 100 participants, but due to this and the protection measures applied, the number of people who attend has been limited. They welcome the new year in a bathtub of ice water in which they submerge for one minute. This is how they purify their souls and pray for the end of the pandemic while immersing themselves in a pool full of ice blocks.
Thus, women dressed in robes and men covered in loincloths sang and clapped before taking the cold bath. “I hope that soon the world and the coronavirus pandemic calm down and everyone can move freely,” said one of the participants, Yoshiko Shibada, the oldest at 74 after the Misogi ritual, which refers to the tradition Shinto way of washing the whole body to purify oneself.
This shrine, near the banks of the Sumida River, traces its origins to a shrine built nearby in 1520, while it has been in its current location since 1642. As well as being the site of a number of interesting matsuri throughout the year (including one that sees contestants take a dip in a pool on the second Sunday in January), arguably the main attraction is next to the actual sanctuary. Here you will find a mini Mount Fuji built with rocks brought from Fujisan by devotees, as part of an ancient tradition of worshiping the great mountain.
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