Thousands gather for Japan's annual 'Naked Festival'

About 10,000 males gathered at the annual "Naked Festival" in Okayama, Japan to celebrate the "Hadaka Matsuri", a wild festival held every year on the third Saturday of February at the Saidaiji Kannonin Temple, Japan.

The 10,000 male participants can be seen wearing a little loincloth called a "fundoshi" and a pair of white socks called "tabi." and the festival held on Saturday Japanese time, celebrates the blessings of harvest, prosperity and fertility, and is usually practised by young men.

In the event, the men spend an hour or two running around the temple grounds  and purify themselves with freezing cold water.

After doing this, they gather themselves into the main temple building.

At exactly 10 p.m., the lights goes off and a priest throws 100 bundles of twigs and two lucky 20-centimeter-long shingi sticks into the crowd from a window four meters above.

According to legend, any of the 10,000 men who gets hold of one of the bundles and/or the two sticks is guaranteed a year of good fortune.