The Nakizumo crying baby festival in Tokyo – in pictures
Japanese parents bring their children to the Sensoji Temple to let novice sumo wrestlers goad their children into crying. The seemingly cruel rite is performed in the belief that their cries will result in them living a long and healthy life
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Novice wrestlers hold babies in an outdoor dohyō at the Sensoji temple in Tokyo
Photograph: Shizuo Kambayashi/AP
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Some Japanese parents believe that sumo wrestlers can help make babies cry out a wish to grow up with good health
Photograph: Toru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images
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All of the children taking part were born in 2012
Photograph: Shizuo Kambayashi/AP
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The event is held to celebrate babies' growth and pray for their good health
Photograph: Kiyoshi Ota/EPA
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A baby in a sumo suit goes head-to-head with another child to determine who can cry the loudest and longest
Photograph: Kiyoshi Ota/EPA
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A man wearing a mask of an oni, or ogre, tries to scare a baby into crying
Photograph: Kiyoshi Ota /EPA
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A wrestler goads a child into crying
Photograph: Toru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images
