Men hug giant blocks of ice in a freezing pool to cleanse their souls - PHOTO+VIDEO

Hugging a giant block of ice may seem a bizarre way to bring good fortune to your new year, but at least these men from Japan can console themselves with the thought that it can't get much worse.In in Tokyo yesterday around 100 people took part in the ancient Shinto festival of Kanchu Misogi, a winter purification ritual that is supposed to cleanse the body and soul and bring them closer to mystical spirits which they believe can bring them success.In temperatures of just 40F (6C) these men stripped down to loincloths and headbands before taking a dip in the freezing water of the pool at Teppozu Inari Shinto shrine while crouching down in order to pray.The ritual is celebrated across Japan and usually involved participants washing themselves with cold water, but can also involve being covered in snow.Shinto is less of a religion and more of a way of life, and followers perform many rituals designed to please kame - meaning spirits or powers. This particular shrine is dedicated to Inari, one of the most important kame who brings success, prosperity and fertility.Despite their obvious suffering in these pictures, followers of Shinto believe that the spirits want humans to be happy and are willing to help them if they are treated correctly. Shinto has no God or Gods, no founder, no central commandments and allows people to follow other religions. Instead it teaches ethical principles and a love of oneself.Shinto, which translates as 'way of the spirits', is intricately linked with the geography of Japan, and so is rarely practiced outside of the country.Purity is at the heart of Shinto's understanding of good and evil. Pollution - tsumi - can be physical, moral or spiritual.Tsumi means much the same as the English word 'sin', but it differs from sin in that it includes things which are beyond the control of individual human beings and are thought of as being caused by evil spirits. In ancient Shinto, tsumi also included disease, disaster and error. Anything connected with death or the dead is considered particularly polluting.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az