Kanamara Matsuri: The Festival of the Iron Phallus

To the rest of the world, Japanese culture can look rather modest, but you wouldn’t know it during Kanamara Matsuri, the annual spring festival in Kawasaki dedicated to human sexuality. For one day a year, even the most reserved giggle as the city is filled with thousands of penis idols. We’re talking penis floats, penis lollipops, penis hats — there’s even a competition for carving radishes into penises.

This is a long-standing tradition for Kawasaki, where citizens are familiar with the local Kanamara Shinto shrine. Going as far back as the 1600s, local prostitutes would pray at the shrine for protection against sexually transmitted diseases. The name of the festival comes from an old legend in which a woman cursed with a toothed vagina castrated several young men on their wedding nights (a metaphor for the common disease of syphilis). A local blacksmith forged an iron penis so she could break the teeth, freeing the woman from her curse.

Today, the festival focuses on STD prevention, specifically HIV and AIDS awareness. If you arrive in the morning, you can catch the traditional ritual held at the Shinto shrine, finished with a serving of dried sardines and sake for good fertility and fortune. Kanamara Matsuri is also known for being LGBT-friendly, especially for the cross dressing community.