A ritual that has been held "the second Sunday" of every year for 66 years

The annual snow bath in Tokyo ... a prayer for the end of the "pandemic"

Only 12 people participated in the annual weather due to the health crisis.

Reuters

The day before yesterday, men in traditional clothes wrapped around the loin, and women in white robes, clapped and chanted slogans before descending into a icy water bath during a Shinto ritual at a shrine in Tokyo, asking for purity of the soul, and praying for the end of the "Covid-19" pandemic.

Only 12 people participated in the annual ritual at the Tipu-zu Inari Shrine, compared to more than 100 in early 2020, due to the health crisis.

Weather officials did not allow spectators to attend.

After performing some warm-up exercises and chanting under a clear sky, and in an atmosphere of 5.1 degrees Celsius, nine men and three women went into a bathroom filled with cold water and large blocks of snow.

"I prayed for the end of the Coronavirus as quickly as possible," said Shinji Ui, head of the Yayoi ikai group, at the shrine after the weather had ended.

Japan is struggling to contain a recent increase in infections, and Tokyo announced yesterday that it had monitored 1494 new cases.

The government declared a state of limited emergency in Tokyo and three neighboring provinces on Thursday, including about 30% of the country's population, in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus.

Nowaki Yamaguchi, 47, who participated in the weather, said the small number of participants made the water cooler than usual.

The weather is held on the second Sunday of every year for 66 years.

Yamaguchi:

The small number of participants made the water cooler than usual.

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