A city in Japan is to host its annual ‘Penis Festival.’
Kawasaki is getting ready to host the Kanamara Matsuri – which is translated to mean ‘Festival of the Steel Phallus’ – on 3 April at the Kanayama Shrine, as happens on the first Sunday of April each year since 1978.
It is celebrated to honour the Shinto god Kanayama-hiko and the goddess Kanayama-hime, who have been known for their connections to the metallurgic arts and sexual health for centuries.
Those in attendance at the event – which features a parades of deities commencing at noon – tend to be sex workers who want to avoid sexually transmitted disease. Over the years, the festival has been embraced by the people from the LGBT community looking for sexual blessings and those wanting to be parents seeking fertility boosts and healthy children.
In addition, proceeds from the festival are donated to research into cures for HIV and Aids by the Kanayama Shrine.
