Japan's 'Naked Men' Festival Succumbs to Aging of Population

Men cleanse their bodies in a river during the Sominsai Festival at Kokuseki-ji Temple in Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, Feb. 17, 2024. Men prepare to cleanse their bodies in a river during the Sominsai Festival at Kokuseki-ji Temple in Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, Feb. 17, 2024. Men cleanse their bodies in a river during the Sominsai Festival at Kokuseki-ji Temple in Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, Feb. 17, 2024. Men carry lanterns as they walk to a river to cleanse their bodies during the Sominsai Festival at Kokuseki-ji Temple in Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, Feb. 17, 2024. Men scramble for the "Somin-Bukuro" bag during Sominsai Festival at Kokuseki-ji Temple in Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, Feb. 17, 2024. Embers from a bonefire float in the air during the Sominsai Festival at Kokuseki-ji Temple in Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, Feb. 17, 2024.

Steam rose as hundreds of naked men tussled over a bag of wooden talismans, performing a dramatic end to a thousand-year-old ritual in Japan that took place for the last time.