Penis candles, penis hats, penis floats — and sexual health awareness.
If you were not in Kawasaki, Japan yesterday, you might have missed the city’s annual celebration of Kanamara Matsuri, also known as the “Festival of the Iron Phallus.” And while it sounds (and looks) like a bachelorette party gone wild, the event is actually part of an ancient tradition. It’s a celebration of fertility, long marriages, healthy births, and awareness of sexually transmitted diseases — and it has been since the early 17th century.
Back in the day, explains the festival’s website, local prostitutes would gather at Kawasaki’s Kanamara Shinto shrine to pray for protection against STIs. Today, though, the festival is for everyone — and despite it’s deeper meaning, organizers are quick to assure the public that it’s “still a penis festival.” Yes, there are fertility prayers, Shinto ceremonies, and HIV awareness — that’s the point — but also, there are penis hats, penis puppets, penis floats, penis lollipops, penis radish-carving, a giant penis altar, and a penis parade. It’s a day, they say, to “go all out with the male sexual organ.” A long, hard day.
Here is the Japanese #ParadeAPhallusFestival – the Kanamara Matsuri, held in Kawasaki: H/t @Rafflesia22 pic.twitter.com/bDVgU1EVIw
— Tom Holland (@holland_tom) October 10, 2013
2. Kanamara Matsuri ( itu apa hayooo ) pic.twitter.com/jf7DQZVonY
— Seputar Jepang (@Seputar_Jepang) November 4, 2013
Kanamara Matsuri #NSFW pic.twitter.com/pqnMd1PyCS
— amir farid (@amirfaridd) April 6, 2014
You can purchase a wooden phallus at the Kanamara Matsuri (Phallus Festival) in Kawasaki: https://t.co/uWTx3CBcxa pic.twitter.com/JV3vvTlf9I
— zoomingjapan (@zoomingjapan) February 14, 2014
[h/t Huffington Post]
Images via Fest 300.