又到一年二月，日本的“裸体节”又来了。

相信大家对“裸体节”也不陌生，去年国内疫情很严重的时候，日本举办节日的大尺度照片可谓是让人过目难忘。

实话说，在看到这篇文章前，小编对这个节日一直是带有“有色滤镜”的，今天才补课知道原来是祈福的节日，而且竟然已经举办了500年不中断了！

但是这个往年声势浩荡的节日，今年却举办得异常低调。

万人裸战没有了、聚众抢宝木也没有了，只是精挑细选了一百名男儿低调举办……

Hadaka Matsuri: Japan's famed Naked Festival canceled for all but a select few

(CNN) — This time a year ago, thousands gathered for Japan's annual Hadaka Matsuri -- also popularly known as the "Naked Festival"-- in Okayama prefecture in the southern part of Honshu island.

Also known as Saidaiji Eyo, Hadaka Matsuri takes place on the third Saturday of February at the Saidaiji Kannonin Temple, about a 30-minute train ride from Okayama city. And this year was no exception.

But the Covid-19 pandemic has cast its long shadow over 2021 proceedings, forcing organizers to pare things down significantly.

TIPS:

pare down 减少；削减

参考译文：

一年前的这个时候，成千上万人聚集在日本本州岛南部的冈山县，参加日本一年一度的裸祭节（又叫“裸体节”）。

裸祭节为每年2月的第三个星期六，在西大寺观音院举行，距离冈山县约30分钟火车车程。今年也不例外。

但是新冠肺炎疫情给2021年的节日蒙上了一层阴影，节日组织人不得不大幅削减流程。

A battle between 10,000 men

Hadaka Matsuri celebrates the blessings of a bountiful harvest, prosperity and fertility.

In normal times, it starts mid-afternoon with an event for young boys -- aimed at fostering interest in younger generations. In the evening, the 10,000 or so male participants spend an hour or two running around the temple grounds in preparation and purify themselves with freezing cold water, before cramming themselves into the main temple building.

TIPS:

bountiful adj.丰富的; 大量的；(地域或时期)物产丰富的

fertility n.多产；肥沃

cram... into 把…塞进

参考译文：

万人大战

裸祭节是为了庆祝祈福五谷丰登、生活繁荣、粮食富足。

一般情况下，节日庆祝是下午开始，先是一场小男孩参加的活动——旨在培养年轻一代的兴趣。到了晚上，约一万名男性参与者围绕寺院周围进行一两个小时的活动，为接下来的流程做准备，还要用冰冻后的水洁净身体后才能挤进寺院主院。

They aren't as naked as the festival's name suggests. They sport a minimal amount of clothing; usually a Japanese loincloth called a "fundoshi" and a pair of white socks called "tabi."

When the lights go out at 10 p.m., a priest throws 100 bundles of twigs and two lucky 20-centimeter-long sacred shingi batons into the crowd from a window four meters above.

It's a scene that would be unthinkable today. The men, packed in like sardines, jostle with each other to get hold of one of the bundles and/or the two sticks. Whoever succeeds is guaranteed a year of good fortune, according to legend.

TIPS:

loincloth n.缠腰带

twig n.细枝

参考译文：

其实他们并不是像节日名称那样真的全裸，还是会穿很少的衣服，通常是穿上一种兜裆布（也叫"fundoshi"），加一双白色袜子（tabi）。

晚上10点熄灯以后，一名僧人从4米高的窗口，向着窗外拥挤的人群扔出100根细枝和2根20厘米长的宝木。

这副场景现在想来有点不可思议。这群男人像沙丁鱼一样挤在一起，互相推搡争夺宝木。据说，赢了的人将会拥有一整年的好运。

The whole event lasts around 30 minutes and participants emerge with a few cuts, bruises and sprained joints.

Visitors normally come from all across Japan and a few from abroad to take part.

But event organizers confirmed to CNN Travel that this year's Hadaka Matsuri event, which took place on February 20, was limited to only a select, socially distanced group of 100 or so men who had caught the shingi in past years, and was closed to spectators.

Rather than battle for the batons, the men gathered at the Saidaiji Kannonin Temple to pray for fertility, an end to the pandemic and world peace, while observing safety measures including social distancing.

参考译文：

抢宝木的活动持续30分钟，参与者可能会出现一些划伤、擦伤和扭伤。

活动现场会有来自日本各地的游客，也会有一些外国人参加。

但是活动组织者向CNN证实，今年2月20日的裸祭节参与的100多人都是精挑细选的，都是处于社交隔离并且前几年拿到过宝木的人，且活动现场不对外开放。

没有争夺宝木，而是聚集在西大寺为祈福富足生活，祈祷疫情结束和世界和平，同时谨遵安全防护，包括执行社交隔离等。

Uninterrupted for 500 years

Why not just cancel the entire event?

In a statement highlighting their reasons for going ahead with a severely downsized version of the festival, organizers noted that it's has continued uninterrupted for over 500 years.

"In discussion with the chief priest and committee members, we have reached the conclusion that we need to pray (for) Eyo now," said Saijaiji Eyo chairman Minoru Omori. Eyo relates to a term called "ichiyo-raifuku," which means "to withstand the harsh, cold winter and reach the warmth of spring."

参考译文：

持续五百年

为什么不干脆取消整个活动？

组织者在一份声明中特别强调了为什么举办这个仪式大幅精简的活动，因为这个节日仪式已经500年不曾中断过了。

“与主持和委员会成员讨论过后，我们达成一致，认为必须举办，”裸祭节主席Minoru Omori说，他还提到了一个词——“一阳来复”（ichiyo-raifuku），意为“抗过严寒冬日，将迎来春日暖阳”。

"In other words, we pray for good luck after continuous bad things," said Omori.

The Naked Festival evolved from a ritual that started 500 years ago during the Muromachi Period (1338-1573), when villagers competed to grab paper talismans, which were given out by a priest at the Saidaiji Kannonin Temple.

TIPS:

ritual n.仪式；习俗

talisman n.护身符

参考译文：

Omori说：“换言之，我们祈祷祸去福来。”

裸祭节起源于500年前的室町时代（1338-1573）的仪式，当时村民们竞相争抢西大寺观音院一位僧人分发的护身符。

More and more villagers wanted those lucky paper talismans and the ritual grew in size. But they realized that when they went to grab the paper it ripped. Their clothes just got in the way too, so they eventually did away with them and exchanged paper for wood, explained Mieko Itano, a spokeswoman from the Okayama tourism board, in a 2020 interview with CNN Travel.

With its long heritage, the festival was also designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Asset in 2016. It's one of several "naked festivals" held across Japan, with another held at Yotsukaido in Chiba prefecture, featuring men in loincloths fighting and carrying kids through mud as a method of exorcism.

TIPS:

exorcism n.驱魔

参考译文：

越来越多的村民想要护身符，仪式规模也越来越大。但是他们意识到在抢护身符时，纸很容易撕毁。穿着衣服也很碍事，所以最终就干脆不穿衣服了，纸做的护身符也换成了木，冈山旅游局女发言人Mieko Itano在2020年接受采访时表示。

由于历史悠久，该节日在2016年被纳入重要非物质文化遗产，这是日本各地举办的“裸体节”之一，另外在千叶县的四海道也举办了裸体节，男人穿着兜裆布，抱着孩子穿过泥浆，作为一种驱魔的仪式。

Japan and Covid-19

Daily Covid-19 cases have been in decline in recent weeks in Japan, though Tokyo is among several prefectures under a state of emergency to control the virus. The country has reported more than 424,000 Covid-19 cases and more than 7,000 deaths.

The pandemic forced organizers to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics last year, with the games set to begin on July 23, 2021.

参考译文：

日本的疫情

最近几周，虽然东京是处于紧急状态的几个地区之一，但日本的感染病例一直在下降。日本报告的感染病例超过42.4万例，7000多人死亡。

疫情迫使组织者不得不推迟2020年夏季奥运会，计划于2021年7月23日开展。