Culture

Sominsai: The End of a 1000-Year-Old Festival

This year saw the end of Sominsai, a unique festival in which loinclothed men plunge into freezing water, are enveloped in smoke, and jostle through the night to grasp a lucky sack as a form of prayer to the Buddha for a bountiful harvest and plentiful health.

Sominsai: The End of a 1000-Year-Old Festival

14m

This year saw the end of Sominsai, a unique festival in which loinclothed men plunge into freezing water, are enveloped in smoke, and jostle through the night to grasp a lucky sack as a form of prayer to the Buddha for a bountiful harvest and plentiful health.

Episodes

  • Sominsai: The End of a 1000-Year-Old Festival: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Sominsai: The End of a 1000-Year-Old Festival

    14m

    This year saw the end of Sominsai, a unique festival in which loinclothed men plunge into freezing water, are enveloped in smoke, and jostle through the night to grasp a lucky sack as a form of prayer to the Buddha for a bountiful harvest and plentiful health.

Schedule

  • Sominsai: The End of a 1000-Year-Old Festival: TVSS: Staple

    Sominsai: The End of a 1000-Year-Old Festival

    Friday
    May 23

    1 Hour

    An in-depth look at the end of Sominsai, a unique cultural festival in Japan featuring competitive challenges that act as a purification ritual and form of prayer to the Buddha.
  • Sominsai: The End of a 1000-Year-Old Festival: TVSS: Staple

    Sominsai: The End of a 1000-Year-Old Festival

    Saturday
    May 24

    1 Hour

    An in-depth look at the end of Sominsai, a unique cultural festival in Japan featuring competitive challenges that act as a purification ritual and form of prayer to the Buddha.
  • Sominsai: The End of a 1000-Year-Old Festival: TVSS: Staple

    Sominsai: The End of a 1000-Year-Old Festival

    Saturday
    May 24

    1 Hour

    An in-depth look at the end of Sominsai, a unique cultural festival in Japan featuring competitive challenges that act as a purification ritual and form of prayer to the Buddha.

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