Worshippers show their cheeky side at naked festival

With only a skimpy loincloth to protect their modesty, thousands of men brave freezing temperatures to fight for lucky charms thrown by a priest at Japan's annual Naked Man Festival.

A writhing mass of sweaty worshippers wrestled for elbowroom inside Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, western Japan, late on Saturday night in the hope of catching the sacred batons.

Around 10,000 hardy souls celebrating the religious festival stepped under ice-cold fountains to purify their bodies before risking life and limb in a mysterious ceremony dating back about 500 years.