Ikenoue-cho, Gifu City: Katsuragake Shrine, Second Saturday of December Every Year 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. 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)." It is a regular festival hosted by the Ikenoue-gu Misogi Festival Committee and has a history of over 600 years. It became an important ritual after the "Great Famine of Oei" that occurred in 1394. 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 calendar's October (Kannazuki). Participants purify their bodies in the clear stream of the Nagara River, cleansing themselves of sins and impurities, and praying for the happiness and prosperity of their families and welcoming 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 (naked festival venue) was the private residence of the negi (shrine official), 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, a slideshow CD photo album has been created, adding over 100 new images not uploaded to the website. When you insert this CD into the disc drive of a MS-Windows compatible computer, a slideshow of 246 images, including commentary, will be displayed on the full screen every 5 seconds with background music, allowing you to enjoy a slideshow of about 21 minutes. 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 for personal use. [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.