Can you name me some strange Japanese festivals? Thanks.?

Answer 1

Hadaka Matsuri - naked festivals. They're held in a variety of places through Japan invovling men wearing sumo loincloths and either carrying portable shrines or wrestling.

http://samuraidave.wordpress.com/2007/03/08/japanese-mudslinging-festival-brings-good-luck/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeXKz3L6fx8

In Aomori there's the Nebuta Festival where they build huge floats out of stiff paper lit up with light bulbs inside:
http://samuraidave.wordpress.com/2006/09/18/japans-nebuta-matsuri-giant-floats-frighten-and-delight/

At the same time in Hirosaki there's NePuta which is similar but with flat fan-shaped floats on which beautiful and sometimes bloody paintings are depicted.
http://samuraidave.wordpress.com/2006/10/07/overshadowed-neputa-festival-of-hirosaki/

In October near Kyoto, Mt. Kurama has a fire festival where males of all ages carrying pinewood torches of all sizes:
http://samuraidave.wordpress.com/2007/03/20/japanese-fire-festival-on-kyotos-mt-kurama/

Feb 3rd in many places they have Setsubun celebrations - this is where they throw beans to drive off devils. At temples the priests and sometimes celebrities and sumo wrestlers toss beans to large crowds:
http://samuraidave.wordpress.com/2007/02/06/setsubun-devils-driven-out-in-japanese-spring-ritual/

In winter a number of temples and shrines have misogi events where half-naked people douse themselves in freezing cold water:
http://samuraidave.wordpress.com/2007/01/19/warm-weather-makes-japanese-wintry-dip-seem-refreshing/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlFqaUYA_T4

The fertility festivals definately attract a large bemused crowd to see a large phallus paraded about. I went to one near Nagoya:
http://samuraidave.wordpress.com/2007/02/08/japanese-fertility-festival-has-a-prominent-guest-of-honor/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTDobTu9LVM

Answer 2

Oooh, fun!! 1. A city - Milan and Vienna 2. A tree - Ashton and Willow 3. A fruit - Haden and Olive (Haden is a type of melon and olives are fruits according to Wikipedia!) 4. A Russian name - Anton and Sasha 5. A name from Shakespeare - Henry and Rosaline 6. A Greek god or goddess - Nyx and Phoebe 7. The first AND last name of a famous person - Mark Jackson and Erica Rose 8. A body part - Pancreas and Areola (although I would never ever use those names) 9. A profession - Mason and Abbessa 10. A name that ends in X - Max and Phoenyx 11. The name of a famous criminal - Jack (the Ripper) and Mary (Bell) 12. A country - Cyprus and India 13. A sea creature - Ray and Dory 14. A name more common on the other gender - Leslie and Jaydin (Leslie was originally a boy's name) 15. A name you've made up - Kentor and Orielle Well, I probably would never use any of those names. Except for Mason, Vienna, Sasha, Max and Phoebe. :)

Answer 3

there are so many strange festivals in Japan. Here are just a few:

Late March/Early April
Kanamara Festival
Wakamiya Hachiman-gu Shrine, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture
The “Festival of the Iron Phallus” features a parade of a 2m tall pink penis through the streets to offer prayers for conception, safe child-birth and marital happiness. This festival dates back to the Edo Period when prostitutes prayed for protection against sexually transmitted diseases.

April/May (every seven years, will be held again in 2010)
This festival is held every seven years, in the Year of the Tiger and Year of the Monkey. This is an amazing but dangerous festival as giant fir trees (weighing over 10 tons) are pulled from the forest and hauled across freezing rivers using straw ropes to the town. The local men then ride the huge logs down the steep slopes. Over the years a number of people have died doing this, so only locals are allowed to participate in this part of the festival – though everyone is welcome to observe!

2 March (date may vary)
Konomiya Hadaka Festival
Konomiya Shrine, Aichi Prefecture
Hundreds of men aged 42 years wear loincloths and try to catch a naked man as he runs to the safe haven of Konomiya Shrine. Catching the naked man is thought to ward off bad luck and ill-fortune.

Answer 4

Nozawa fire festival-the old men of the village try to burn down a shrine and the young men try to stop them, or something like that.

The Onbashira festival in Suwa is seriously dangerous-people ride a huge log down a hill on every six years.

The Kenka Matsuri in Himeji is just that-people beat each other up.

Answer 5

Saidaiji Naked Man Festival

Thousands of loinclothed men run after one naked 'sacred' man, in attempts to touch him and pass their bad luck to him.