Giant penises roam the streets of Japan – it’s the Kanamara phallus festival!

On Sunday 5 April Kanayama Shrine held its annual Kanamara Matsuri, a traditional Japanese festival of Shinto origin that incorporates a phallic parade and has now become quite the tourist magnet. And there were penises everywhere.

Kanamara Festival takes place every year at Kanayama Shrine in Kawasaki City. The festival is dedicated to Kanamara, originally a god of blacksmithing but now prayed to as a god for fertility, childbirth, and protection from STDs. Unfortunately, unlike last year, the weather wasn’t particularly good, with the rain turning the grounds of the shrine into sludge, but that didn’t stop people from having a good time.

This festival probably had the largest concentration of foreigners I’ve ever seen in Japan. People of all nationalities were here to gaze upon the giant penises and drink copious amounts of beer from first thing in the morning. The place was absolutely packed, and none of the roads had been closed off for it which led to everyone trying to squeeze onto the sidewalk to catch a glimpse of the passing penises.

The three mikoshi, or portable shrines, that are carried around the area are the Kanamara Boat Mikoshi (tall and black), the Elizabeth Mikoshi (big and pink), and the Kanamara Big Mikoshi (squat and wooden). They circled around the streets for a couple of hours pursued by spectators who just didn’t want to let the peen out of their sight, or their camera lenses, before heading back to the shrine to be stowed away for another year. There’s only so much the world can handle.

So, without further ado, onto the phallic photos.

▼Passers-by who had no idea about the festival would be in for a shock when they saw this pink phallus proceeding past in a stately fashion.

▼The rain beaded enticingly on the rim.

▼The Boat Mikoshi standing proud and tall.

▼A surreal sight indeed.

While the mikoshi made their way around the streets, the festivities within the shrine complex continued, with performances and music.

There was a lot on offer, but there were also a whole lot of people. I stood in a long and winding line for penis lollies for half an hour and moved only a few metres forward before giving up. When I was wandering around later I saw why the queue had been barely moving; most people were getting to the stall in a scrum from a different direction. While I missed out on the opportunity to suck on a sugary schlong, I managed to get a few shots of other festival-goers enjoying their generously sized dicks-on-sticks.

▼I looked way too excited to be being surrounded by willies.

▼There was plenty of food on offer, and some of it wasn’t actually penis-shaped!

▼Goodies for sale, including some lady-parts.

▼Too many dicks on the dancefloor? Not at the Kanamara Festival!

Despite the weather, the festival enjoyed a huge turnout this year, and I’m sure the number of visitors will only increase as its infamy spreads. I just hope they close the roads next time to help deal with the overcrowding, because I’m definitely going back to try and get myself a penis lolly!

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