Tokyo: At The Annual Ice Bath Ritual This Year, The Japanese Prayed For The Pandemic To End

Participants wearing protective face masks take an ice-cold bath at a ceremony in Tokyo.

On the second Sunday of each year, a ritual is performed at Tokyo Teppozu Inari Shrine. Men and women of all ages enter a pool filled with cold water and ice to pray for the new year.

After warming up and chanting, they dive into the cold water to pray for personal and general health and well-being. This year the ritual focused on overcoming the pandemic and the participants were quite careful wearing masks. Tokyo has been in a state of emergency since January 8 due to the pandemic.

Participants, mostly men, wore classical loincloths. Media and audiences followed suit as Japanese citizens immersed themselves in a pool full of cold water and large blocks of ice.

After warm-up exercises and chanting under a clear sky with outside temperatures at 5.1 degree Celsius (41.18 Fahrenheit), the nine male and three female participants went into a bath filled with cold water and large ice blocks.

"I prayed that the coronavirus comes to an end as soon as possible," said 65-year-old participant Shinji Ooi, who heads the Shrine's 'Yayoikai' parishioner group, after the ritual.

Japan has struggled to contain a recent surge in coronavirus infections, with Tokyo reporting 1,494 new cases on Sunday.

The government declared a limited state of emergency for Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures on Thursday, covering about 30% of the country's population, in a bid to stem the spread.

Fewer participants at the Shinto ritual made the water extra cold, participant Naoaki Yamaguchi told Reuters.

"Normally we have more participants and it makes the water temperature a little bit warmer. But this year, there were just twelve people, so it (the cold) was crazy," the 47-year-old said.