About 30 people joined a winter Buddhism ascetic practice for purification by standing under a waterfall on Sunday at Oiwasan Nissekiji temple, located at the foot of the Northern Alps' Tateyama mountain range in Kamiichi, Toyama Prefecture.
The practice, known as kanshugyo, was held on the day, which marked daikan -- regarded as the coldest day of the year.
Men and women who participated in the practice gathered at 8:30 a.m. when the temperature was 4 C. Wearing white clothing and a headband, they chanted the Heart Sutra. They then moved to the back of the temple's main hall -- where the about 6-meter-high Roppondaki fall is located -- as they blew on a conch shell together.
By performing cold water ablutions under the 0.6 C water, they invigorated themselves with a shout as they moved their hands up and down.
An 82-year-old man from Kaizu, Gifu Prefecture, who has joined the practice every year for about 40 years, said: "I wished for the safety of my family. Now I feel refreshed in my mind and body."
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