TOKYO – Men wearing traditional caps and women in white robes applauded and sang before going to an ice water bath during a Shinto ritual at a Tokyo shrine on Sunday to purify the soul and pray for the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Only a dozen people attended the annual event at the Teppou-zu Inari shrine, shrunk this year due to the health crisis, compared to more than a hundred in early 2020. Spectators were not allowed to the event.
After doing warm-up exercises and singing under a clear sky with temperatures outside at 41.18 Fahrenheit, the nine male and three female participants entered a bath full of cold water and large blocks of ice. “I prayed that the coronavirus would end as soon as possible,” said Shinji Ooi, a 65-year-old participant who leads the ‘Yayoikai’ shrine parishioners group, after the ritual.
Japan has struggled to contain a recent rise in coronavirus infections, and Tokyo reported 1,494 new cases on Sunday. The government on Thursday declared a limited state of emergency for Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures, covering about 30 percent of the country’s population, in an attempt to curb the spread.
Fewer participants in the Shinto ritual made the water much colder, participant Naoaki Yamaguchi told Reuters.
“Usually we have more participants and it makes the water temperature a little warmer. But this year, there were only twelve people, so (the cold) was crazy, ”the 47-year-old said.
The sanctuary added the theme of “protecting epidemics” to the annual event, which is held on the second Sunday of each year and reaches its 66th edition.