TOKYO – Men wearing traditional loincloths and women dressed in white tunics applauded and sang before entering a cold water bath during a Shinto ritual at a Tokyo shrine on Sunday to purify their souls and pray for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Only a dozen people attended the annual event at the Teppou-zu Inari Shrine, reduced this year due to the health crisis, compared to more than a hundred in early 2020. Spectators were not allowed at the event.
After doing warm-up exercises and singing under a clear sky with an external temperature of 41.18 Fahrenheit, the nine male and three female participants went for a bath filled with cold water and large blocks of ice. “I prayed that the coronavirus would end as quickly as possible,” said participant Shinji Ooi, 65, who heads the group of parishioners ‘Yayoikai’ at the Shrine after the ritual.
Japan has struggled to contain a recent increase in coronavirus infections, with Tokyo reporting 1,494 new cases on Sunday. The government declared a limited state of emergency for Tokyo and three neighboring city halls on Thursday, covering about 30% of the country’s population, in an attempt to contain the spread.
Fewer participants in the Shinto ritual made the water even colder, participant Naoaki Yamaguchi told Reuters.
“We usually have more participants and this makes the water temperature a little warmer. But this year, there were only twelve people, so (the cold) was crazy, ”said the 47-year-old.
The sanctuary added the theme “preventing epidemics” to the annual event, which is held on the second Sunday of each year and is now in its 66th year.