Students training to become Shinto priests in northern Japan have a unique graduation ceremony.

Becoming a Shinto priest requires two years of schooling at Dewasanzan Shrine’s educational institution.

Students perform special rituals in the cold to finish their formal education.

They test their endurance by chanting a prayer to purify the mind and body while submerged in an icy river.

Successful graduates will become full-fledged priests and work at shrines.