While we carry huge idols into the sea, Japan worships giant penises at this festival. This year’s edition of Kanamara Matsuri just got over, and the pictures are wild.
Kanamara Matsuri isn’t your average festival. This festival of penises is celebrated in Japan every year, on the first Sunday of April. The latest edition was held on the 3rd of April.
The 2016 edition of Kanamara Matsuri (Courtesy: Daily Mail)
The festival celebrates the death of a sharp-toothed demon who hid inside a woman’s vagina and cut the penises off two men on their wedding nights. Legend has it that the woman asked for help from a blacksmith, who in turn made an iron penis to break the demon’s teeth. This is completely normal in Japan. So is all that weird anime. So are those dick lollipops in the photos from this year’s edition.
(Courtesy: epa.eu)
(Courtesy: vaterland.li)
Anyways, the iron penis became a shrine, and followers included sex workers who prayed for good business and protection from STDs, and now it stands for the celebration of safe sex and relationships.
They’re radishes, just FYI. (Courtesy: Huffington Post)
Kanamara Matsuri has also gained the trust of the LGBT community in Japan, and companies that raise money for AIDS protection.
(Courtesy: Huffington Post)
While these rituals might sound weird, this one sends a good message to the crowd, and that’s all that matters!