The annual parade dedicated to fertility and male genital organs was held in the Japanese city of Kawasaki, bringing together thousands of participants and spectators.
The Shinto* festival is traditionally celebrated on the first Sunday in April at Kanayama Shrine. In the center of the procession is a giant pink phallus. In Japanese tradition, the cult of the genital organs has a special place. At the Shinto Kanamara Matsuri (Festival of the Iron Phallus), the congregation, including small children, is merry and noisy, buying penis-shaped lollipops and “themed” souvenirs – key chains, candles, all kinds of trinkets.
The holiday is rooted in the distant past, it was first celebrated during the Edo period (1603-1868), when prostitutes asked the shrine for success in their work and protection from syphilis.
The central “participants” of the holiday are three phalluses, differing in size and color. The height of the largest, pink, is approximately 2.5 meters. It is carried out in a divine palanquin by transvestites.
The legend says: once a toothy demon hid in the vagina of a young maiden and bit off the penises of her two suitors on their wedding night. Then she asked the blacksmith to forge an iron phallus, on which the demon broke his teeth.
All proceeds from the festivals are donated to foundations and organizations involved in HIV research.
*Shintoism, Shinto is the traditional polytheistic religion of Japan, based on the animistic beliefs of the ancient Japanese. The objects of worship are numerous deities and souls of the dead, called kami. A special part of the tradition is the worship of natural objects, each of which has its own kami.
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