Ikenoue-cho, Gifu City: Katsuragake Shrine, held annually on the second Saturday of December On Saturday, December 8, 2007 (Heisei 19), blessed with fine weather, the "Ikenoue Misogi Festival" was held at Katsuragake Shrine, located in Ikenoue-cho, Gifu City, so I went there for a one-night, two-day photo shoot. The "Ikenoue Misogi Festival," also known as the "Ikenoue Naked Festival," is officially called the "Ikenoue-gu Misogi Festival (Katsuragake Shrine Misogi Festival)" and is a regular festival hosted by the Ikenoue-gu Misogi Festival Committee, with a history of over 600 years. It became a particularly important ritual after the "Great Famine of Oei" that occurred in 1394, and it is said that the misogi was performed in the large pond in front of the shrine until 1534, when a great flood occurred. This "Misogi Harai" (purification ritual) has traditionally been held on the last day of the old lunar October (Kannazuki), where people purify their bodies in the clear stream of the Nagara River to cleanse themselves of sins and impurities, pray for the happiness and prosperity of their families, and welcome the gods. It is now held on the second Saturday of December. After 1914 (Taisho 3), the practice of being completely naked was replaced by wearing a fundoshi (loincloth). The saimoto (the venue for the naked festival) was a private house of the Negi (Shinto priest), and women were prohibited from entering the saimoto. The current saimoto is the Ikenoue Community Center, adjacent to the shrine, where you can receive a free yakuyoke fundoshi (loincloth to ward off evil) and easily participate in the naked festival. This time, to allow many people to experience the excitement of the historic "Ikenoue Misogi Festival" and to preserve it as a permanent collection, I have created a slideshow CD photo album that includes over 100 new images that are not uploaded on the website. When you insert this CD into the disc drive of a MS-Windows compatible computer, you can enjoy a 21-minute slideshow with 246 images, including commentary, displayed on the full screen every 5 seconds, accompanied by background music. A controller is built into the screen, so you can stop or skip at any point and enjoy it freely. Original images that are not available on the website are also included, so you can print them up to A3 size. You are free to print them out as long as you enjoy them personally. [Note] For MS-Windows compatible computers. It will not work on a DVD player connected to a TV. You can watch it on a TV screen by connecting your computer to the TV with an HDMI cable and switching to external input.