After completing the 100 days of rough practices, the monks purify themselves by pouring cold water over themselves at a temple in Tottori City, praying for peace and a bountiful harvest.
Every year on February 20th, monks in training at Jonin-ji Temple, a temple of the Nichiren sect in Tottori City, perform ``water practice'', and this year will be the 94th time.
Seventeen ascetic monks who had just completed 100 days of rough practice until the 10th of this month at Nakayama Hokkekyoji Temple, one of the main temples in Chiba Prefecture, participated in the water training.
The monks dressed in loincloths began by chanting a sutra called ``Suigyo Kimmon,'' praying for peace and a bountiful harvest.
Then, I washed myself by pouring cold water from a bucket over and over again.
The temperature at 10:00 am in Tottori City on the 20th was 6.9 degrees, and the monks were splashing violently while facing the water while the cold wind was blowing.
During the 100-day Aragyo in Chiba Prefecture, the monks practiced water seven times a day from 3:00 am to 11:00 pm, and continued to chant sutras in between.
A 32-year-old monk who participated from a temple in Yonago City said, "It's cold, but I think that's why it's meaningful. The 100-day rough trip was often hard, and I lost my voice, but now I'm doing it. I am full of gratitude to the people. I would like to continue to devote myself."