The Kanamara Matsuri is a fertility festival held every year in the city of Kawasaki, Japan. What makes this event special? It is a phallic festival.
In fact, its name means “Iron Penis Festival”. The penis theme is represented there in various forms, with images, ornaments, sweets, and carved vegetables. It is a procession, in which three giant phallic sculptures are paraded.
The phalluses are transported in mobile wooden shrines, called mikoshi. The wooden penis has the largest float, the black iron penis travels in a mikoshi in the shape of a boat, and cross-dressing men carry the pink penis.
The legend of the Kanamara Matsuri
The legend surrounding this tradition is strange. A sharp-toothed demon allegedly lodged itself in the vagina of a young girl.
A strange STD, isn’t it? Incompatible with a fulfilling sex life, anyway. Indeed, the jealous demon didn’t much appreciate the company of the wee-wees. And when the possessed girl wanted to get married, with a single bite, it castrated the poor husband on the wedding night. I suppose that was a valid ground for annulling a marriage, as the demon meted out the same fate to the second attempted husband.
The young girl was desperate. Would she have to remain permanently single? Fortunately, a clever blacksmith had a genius idea. He fashioned an iron phallus and gave it to the young lady. Her two previous attempts at intercourse having left her unsatisfied, she rushed at the device and inserted it into her vagina.
The demon, believing it saw a new wee-wee arriving, hurriedly bit the object and broke its teeth. Problem solved! (Apparently, keeping a toothless demon in the cunt didn’t seem to be a problem.)
The iron phallus became a holy relic. It was kept in a sanctuary, representing, in its centre, a blacksmith’s workshop.
Some photos from the Iron Penis Festival
Here are some photos of the Kanamara Matsuri.
I have never had the chance to attend this festival (although I would love to!). These photos come from Flickr, where they have been shared under a Creative Commons licence.
Photo sources: Flickr gallery by David Shackelford, by Masayuki (Yuki) Kawagishi, by Joe, by Ikusuki, by elmimmo, Creative Commons.
