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Blake, Wm. The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. 1808.

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For the first time in 1,250 years, 40 women will participate in Japan’s “Naked Man.” The traditional event involves thousands of men stripped down to loincloths battling to touch a completely naked man for good fortune.

Unfortunately, the participating women will remain fully clothed and won’t be engaging in the shenanigans that their male counterparts are carrying out. Instead, the women will be tasked with carrying bamboo grass to the shrine grounds where the event will be held.

Mitsugu Katayama, a festival committee official: “We have not been able to hold the festival like we used to for the past three years because of the pandemic and, in the time, we received a lot of requests from women in the town to take part.”

The event, set for February 22, is a celebration of harvest, prosperity, and fertility. Officials anticipate about 10,000 participants.