Overview
- - Six male participants were taken to hospitals from Saidaiji Kannon-in in Okayama on the night of February 21 during the Saidaiji Eyo festival.
- - Officials said three of the six were unconscious, while the others were able to speak, and all were reported to be in their 40s to 50s.
- - The injuries occurred as mawashi-clad participants collided during a fierce contest to seize the shingi, a ritual stick.
- - The shingi was thrown from the main hall's second-floor Gofuku window at around 10 p.m., triggering the scramble witnessed by large crowds.
- - Fire and emergency crews handled transports as police investigated; organizers note the shingi is about 4 cm in diameter and 20 cm long, and a participant died in a 2007 incident.