Lake-jumping religious ritual

Lake-jumping religious ritual

A Buddhist monk jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about 7 meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, western Japan, on Aug. 1, 2025, as he completes 100 days of mountain training. The traditional ritual at Isaki-ji temple dates back about 1,300 years.

Lake-jumping religious ritual

Lake-jumping religious ritual

A Buddhist monk jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about 7 meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, western Japan, on Aug. 1, 2025, as he completes 100 days of mountain training. The traditional ritual at Isaki-ji temple dates back about 1,300 years.

Lake-jumping religious ritual

Lake-jumping religious ritual

A Buddhist monk jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about 7 meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, western Japan, on Aug. 1, 2025, as he completes 100 days of mountain training. The traditional ritual at Isaki-ji temple dates back about 1,300 years.

[Breaking News]Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

OMIHACHIMAN, Japan, Aug. 1 Kyodo - A Buddhist monk at Isakiji Temple jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about seven meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, Japan, on Aug. 1, 2024, during a traditional ritual and part of training. (Kyodo)

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

A Buddhist monk at Isakiji Temple jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about seven meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, Japan, on Aug. 1, 2023, during a traditional ritual and part of training.

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

A Buddhist monk at Isakiji Temple jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about seven meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, Japan, on Aug. 1, 2023, during a traditional ritual and part of training.

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

A Buddhist monk at Isakiji Temple jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about seven meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, Japan, on Aug. 1, 2023, during a traditional ritual and part of training.

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

A Buddhist monk at Isakiji Temple jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about seven meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, Japan, on Aug. 1, 2023, during a traditional ritual and part of training.

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

A Buddhist monk at Isakiji Temple jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about seven meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, Japan, on Aug. 1, 2023, during a traditional ritual and part of training.

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

A Buddhist monk at Isakiji Temple jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about seven meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, Japan, on Aug. 1, 2023, during a traditional ritual and part of training.

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

A Buddhist monk at Isakiji Temple jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about seven meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, Japan, on Aug. 1, 2023, during a traditional ritual and part of training.

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

A Buddhist monk at Isakiji Temple jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about seven meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, Japan, on Aug. 1, 2022, during a traditional ritual and part of training.

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

A Buddhist monk at Isakiji Temple jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about seven meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, Japan, on Aug. 1, 2022, during a traditional ritual and part of training.

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

A Buddhist monk at Isakiji Temple jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about seven meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, Japan, on Aug. 1, 2022, during a traditional ritual and part of training.

Monks jump off beam at Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

Monks jump off beam at Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

One of 12 monks who have finished a 100-day circumambulation of Mt. Hiei straddling Kyoto and Shiga prefectures in western Japan jumps from a height of seven meters from the edge of a 13 meter-long beam over Lake Biwa at Isakiji, a Buddhist temple in Omihachiman, Shiga Prefecture, on Aug. 1, 2015, during a traditional ritual. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Biwa freshwater pearls cultured in western Japan

Biwa freshwater pearls cultured in western Japan

Photo taken on March 27, 2015, shows Biwa freshwater pearls placed on a mother shellfish cultured in Lake Nishinoko in Omihachiman, Shiga Prefecture, western Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Tokyo Olympic torch relay

Tokyo Olympic torch relay

The Olympic flame is passed from torch to torch during the Tokyo Olympic torch relay on a bridge in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman in western Japan on May 27, 2021.

Tokyo Olympic torch relay

Tokyo Olympic torch relay

The Olympic flame is passed from torch to torch during the Tokyo Olympic torch relay on a bridge in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman in western Japan on May 27, 2021.

Tokyo Olympic torch relay

Tokyo Olympic torch relay

A Tokyo Olympic torch relay runner waves during the torch relay on a bridge in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman in western Japan on May 27, 2021.

New coronavirus

New coronavirus

Fireworks are set off in Omihachiman, Shiga Prefecture, western Japan, on May 5, 2020, in an event to hope for an early end to the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

New coronavirus

New coronavirus

Fireworks are set off in Omihachiman, Shiga Prefecture, western Japan, on May 5, 2020, in an event to hope for an early end to the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

New coronavirus

New coronavirus

Fireworks are set off in Omihachiman, Shiga Prefecture, western Japan, on May 5, 2020, in an event to hope for an early end to the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Hog cholera infection in western Japan

Hog cholera infection in western Japan

Photo taken Feb. 6, 2019, from a Kyodo News helicopter shows workers in hazmat suits at a pig farm in Omihachiman, Shiga Prefecture, western Japan, following the detection of hog cholera virus. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Farmer strives to preserve indigenous Japanese horses

Farmer strives to preserve indigenous Japanese horses

Photo taken on May 11, 2018, shows Ikumi Isobe, the owner of the Mikarinonomori farm, riding an indigenous Japanese horse in Omihachiman, Shiga Prefecture, western Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Farmer strives to preserve indigenous Japanese horses

Farmer strives to preserve indigenous Japanese horses

Photo taken on May 11, 2018, shows people patting indigenous Japanese horses at the Mikarinonomori farm in Omihachiman, Shiga Prefecture, western Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Pole diving at Lake Biwa

Pole diving at Lake Biwa

A Buddhist monk at Isakiji Temple jumps into Lake Biwa from a thick, square 13-meter-long pole during the annual pole diving event at Omihachiman in Shiga Prefecture on Aug. 1, 2017. The event, which is said to date back more than 1,100 years, is performed on Aug. 1 every year to rid people of bad luck. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo