Teppozu Cold Weather Misogi
Annual New Year's ritual
January 8, 2017, Tokyo, Japan - Participants pray absorbedly during a new year's annual cold water dousing ritual in downtown Tokyo on a cold Practitioners of Shinto, a Japanese ethnic religion focusing on ritual practices to be carried out diligently, immerse themselves in icy water under the frigid temperatures in the purification ritual. Practitioners of Shinto, a Japanese ethnic religion focusing on ritual practices to be carried out diligently, immerse themselves in icy water under the frigid temperatures in the purification ritual, believed to cleanse the spirit or just to show off their bravery and endurance. (Photo by Natsuki Sakai/AFLO) AYF -mis-