Japan celebrates its national baby-crying competition

April 26, 2010 by Shawn Douglas
Filed under: News

Japan celebrates the tradition of nakizumo, a competition designed to make babies cry.

While most people are busy trying to find ways to quiet their crying baby, some parents in Japan encourage it, at least during one day out of the year.

The Japanese tradition of nakizumo lives on in an annual event held at the Sensoji (also known as Asakusa Kannon) Temple. The temple is Tokyo’s oldest temple, believed to be completed in the year 645.

The event is said to have originated 400 years ago but was nationalized in 1991 by the Asakusa Sightseeing Federation with the commemoration of the restoration of the statue of famous kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro IX behind the temple.

During the event, the gyoji or judge calls the names of two participating babies. The babies are brought to two sumo wrestlers who hold the babies and attempt to make them cry. If the babies remain oblivious to the wrestlers’ attempts, then the gyoji is forced to don a mask and scare the baby, often shouting “Nake! Nake!”. (Cry! Cry!)

Typically the first to cry wins the competition, but if both babies cry at the same time, the one that is loudest wins. It is believed that the process of crying removes evil spirits and makes the babies healthier and stronger. As the babies are held high as they cry, mothers say prayers for their good health.

The event, which typically marks the high point of spring, featured 80 babies this year. It’s not unusual to see similar nakizumo competitions in September across Japan.

You can view the competition in action on YouTube.