The traditional "cold mid-misogi" ceremony, in which young people dressed in lower belts cleanse the shrine's deity in the Tsugaru Strait in the middle of winter, was held in the town of Kikonai in southern Hokkaido.
"Cold Weather" is a traditional event that has been held since the Edo period to pray for good fishing and a good harvest at the Same River Shrine in Kikonai Town, and was designated as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Hokkaido last year.
On the 15th, four young people called ascetics, who had purified themselves by continuing their training to bathe in water from the 13th, jumped into the Tsugaru Strait in the middle of winter with the body of the god in their arms.
In the bitter cold, where the temperature dropped below minus 6 degrees Celsius, the four of them performed a "seawater bath" in which seawater was poured over and over again to purify the gods.
Then, after going up to the beach and bathing his whole body in water, he poured water on the visitors, who were said to be beneficial, and prayed for a year of illness and disaster.
A woman visiting from Akita Prefecture said, "It's amazing that I was bathing in water in this wind and temperature, and I think it's amazing that young people are taking the initiative to connect the festival, which has been cherished for a long time."
In addition, a local woman who visited with her parents and children said, "I pray for the health of my family, and I hope it will continue in the future because it is a festival that has been going on for a long time."