Here I think may be a Japanese equivalent of the Haxey Hood.
In this Japanese New Year celebration a hemp bag containing a lucky talisman is thrown into the crowd of 110 men (in scanty costume you may notice) and they have to try to get it somewhere. The festival takes place on variable dates - in 2009 it started on Sunday 1st Feb at 10pm when they took a ritual bath, and lasted until Monday 2nd Feb (the bag was thrown at 5am). I'm afraid I haven't yet ascertained what they did while they were waiting for it. These photos contain the bag I suppose, but if you can find it I'll eat my hat. I have tried the spot-the-ball-method but it scans like a bucket o'whelks.
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