On Wednesday, January 14, 2026, Kyoto’s religious calendar concludes the New Year season with the visceral and ancient Hadaka Odori (Naked Dance) at Hōkai-ji Temple. Located in the southeastern Hino district, this festival dates back over 250 years to the Edo Period. It is a high-energy spiritual display where local men and boys gather to pray for a bountiful harvest, community happiness, and the fulfillment of personal wishes through a display of physical endurance.

The main event begins around 7:00 PM, when participants prepare by dousing themselves in freezing well water for ritual purification. Clad only in white loincloths, two distinct groups, first young boys and then adult men, take to the stage of the temple's Amida Hall. In the biting January cold, they jump, stomp, and jostle one another while raising their hands to chant "chōrai, chōrai". This rhythmic chant is a declaration of deep devotion to the Buddha, intended to secure divine blessings for their families' health and prosperity.

Beyond the dance, the festival is rich with unique local folklore and community spirit. One enduring belief is that the front flaps of the dancers' loincloths serve as powerful charms for easy childbirth; they are often sought after by families to be used as maternity girdles. As the high-energy "dance" subsides, Buddhist priests emerge to circle the temple grounds, blessing spectators by touching them with sacred kajibō sticks while chanting sutras. For visitors in 2026, the experience is completed by the scent of warm sake-based soup served by local families to ward off the winter chill.