Shinto Kanamara Matsuri かなまら祭り 2024
Observed annually on the 1st Sunday in April by Kanayama shrine, Kawasaki, Japan
The Shinto Kanamara Matsuri (かなまら祭り, "Festival of the Steel Phallus") is an annual Japanese festival held each spring at the Kanayama Shrine (金山神社, Kanayama-jinja) in Kawasaki, Japan. The exact dates vary: the main festivities fall on the first Sunday in April. The phallus, as the central theme of the event, is reflected in illustrations, candy, carved vegetables, decorations, and a mikoshi parade. The shrine is part of the Wakamiya Hachimangu Shrine and located near Kawasaki-Daishi Station.
The Kanamara Matsuri is centered on the Kanayama Shrine where the god Kanayama-hiko and the goddess Kanayama-hime are venerated. They are both gods of blacksmithing, metalsmithing, and metal works, and are also prayed to for easy childbirth, marital harmony, and protection from sexually transmitted infections.
The festival started in 1969. Today, it has become something of a tourist attraction and is used to raise money for HIV research.
Kanamara Matsuri 2024 - Festival of the Steel Phallus
The Penis Festival on 1st Sunday of April: Japan's Penis Festival in Kawasaki - (Kanamara Matsuri)
The male steel organ festival, Kanamara Matsuri, is held since 1969 every spring in the Kanayama shrine in the city of Kawasaki in Japan. With all the strangeness and irony of this, according to the tradition of the local Shinto religion, the masculine penis is the main theme of the festival.
An ancient legend tells us that a demon with sharp teeth fell in love with a young woman and hid in her vagina. On her wedding night the demon bit her husband’s sex organ. The woman who was sorry for her husband asked for the help of the blacksmith who made her a male organ of metal in order to break the demon’s teeth. The organ that was created by the blacksmith became a sacred object in the eyes of believers who celebrate, every year, the miracle of the woman’s victory over the demon, The steel organ is commemorated as sacred in Kanayama shrine in Kawasaki. According to the belief, pray at the shrine ensures success and prosperity for business people, successful coupling, good life and harmony for couples in marriage.
Today, the festival is a first-class tourist attraction. Its goal in addition to the fiesta is collecting donations for the fight against HIV. Thousands of people, locals and guests fill the city and the demand for accommodation is particularly high. It is recommended to check hotel prices and book a room in advance. During the festival, candies, vegetables and various decorations carved in the form of a male organ are offered for sale. The main attractions of the events are a parade where a giant organ statue is carried and a portable temple with a black metal organ. This is a unique event that leaves the Western visitor with unforgettable cultural experiences.
Inside Japan's world-famous 'penis festival'
If any country has a reputation for modesty and manners, it’s Japan. The Japanese are polite, never late and constantly bowing, goes the usual narrative – and there’s certainly truth in that. But the reality is a little more complicated – and that complexity is on full view at one of the country’s most outlandish religious festivals, the Kanamara Matsuri, or “Festival of the Steel Phallus”, held annually in Kawasaki, just south of Tokyo.
It’s the first Sunday in April, and I’m in Kawasaki’s Daishi neighbourhood, surrounded by penises of all colours and sizes. Normally the streets here are sleepy – just three days ago, only a few lonely pedestrians were walking the alleys – but today there’s a scrum of people shouting, laughing and chanting, pushing and shoving as they jockey for position.
They’re all trying to get a glimpse of the massive penis mikoshi, or portable shrines, being paraded through the town. Each mikoshi is carried by dozens of locals outfitted in happi coats and sweatbands, while some of the men are in fundoshi, loincloth-style underwear. The Kanamara Matsuri is often presented to outsiders as yet another face of “quirky Japan”, but in fact, it’s a serious religious affair, linked to Japan’s nature-worshipping Shinto religion.
Welcome to the world's biggest 'Penis Festival' - where everything is manhood-shaped
A huge wooden penis on the streets of Kawasaki
Welcome to Kanamara Matsuri, aka the Festival of the Steel Phallus. Known to locals as 'Penis Festival', the annual event in Kawasaki, Japan, does exactly what you would expect of a such an event.
Phallus-loving party-goers parade giant manhood-shaped shrines down the streets as passers-by suck on manhood-themed lollipops. Others spend their hard-earned cash on other penis memorobilia. Held on April 5 this year, the event at the Kanayama Shrine celebrates the male appendage and fertility.
It is believed to have its roots in the 17th Century, following the gory tale of a sharp-toothed demon who fell in love with a beautiful woman. Spurned by his lady, the demon proceeded to rob her subsequent lovers of their pride and joy in particularly horrific ways. It was not until a local blacksmith forged a steel phallus, which broke the demon's teeth, that it was vanquished forever and the woman was free. The "Festival of the Steel Phallus" was then born and the Kanayama Shrine became renowned as a site for sex workers to pray for protection against STDs.
Japan Penis Festival shrine distances itself from penis mascot
Every spring, thousands of tourists from Japan and overseas descend on a shrine in Tokyo’s neighboring prefecture of Kanagawa to celebrate one thing — the penis.
This symbol of fertility is at the centre of the Kanamara Matsuri (“Festival of the Steel Phallus”), which ranks as one of Japan’s kisai or “bizarre festivals“, and the story behind it is just as bizarre as the festival itself.
According to legend, a demon once sought revenge on a woman who rejected him by taking up residence inside her vagina and biting down on her husband’s penis so she was unable to procreate. In order to solve the problem, the woman paid a blacksmith to create a steel phallus to break the demon’s teeth, which he did, ultimately restoring her fertility. Today, a replica of that phallus, and the spirit of the blacksmith, are preserved at the shrine, called Kanayama.
Japan's Annual Penis Festival Is As Phallic As You'd Expect
Each spring, people flock to Kawasaki, Japan, to celebrate Kanamara Matsuri, aka the "Festival of the Steel Phallus."
Held this year on April 6, the festival is a celebration of the penis and fertility. People parade gigantic phallic-shaped mikoshi (portable Shinto shrines) down the streets during the event, as revelers suck on penis lollipops, buy penis-themed memorabilia and pose with sculptures in the shape of -- you guessed it -- penises.
According to the BBC, the festival is believed to have roots in the 17th century, when prostitutes are said to have prayed for protection from sexually transmitted infections at Kawasaki's Kanamara shrine. Today, the festival reportedly raises awareness about safe sex practices and fundraises for HIV prevention.
Penises everywhere – here’s what happens at Japan’s annual phallus festival Shinto Kanamra Matsuri
In Japan, the penis takes over on the first Sunday of April
You say festival, you think Glastonbury. Wilderness. Glitter on your face, flowers in your hair and booze on your breath. Unless you are in Japan in April, in which case your first thought is probably about giant penises.
For the Japanese, spring marks the celebration of Shinto Kanamra Matsuri, otherwise known as The Festival Of The Steel Phallus. The day-long festival takes place on the first Sunday of April at the Kanayama Shrine in Kawasaki, a city just south of Tokyo. The place is deluged by tens of thousands of locals and tourists alike, who flock from around the world to pay homage to the male appendage.
And why not? It’s pretty great – plus the Japanese know how to make the most of it. There are penises everywhere.
Here's Why Japan Has a Yearly "Penis Parade"
During the Festival of the Steel Phallus, known in Japan as Kanamara Matsuri, Japan comes together to welcome the spring and pray for "fertility, smooth martial relationships and business prosperity." Playfully known as the penis parade, Kanamara Matsuri showcases everything phallic from cookies to the large Mikoshi, a large pink phallus that floats throughout the celebration.
During the event, people pray to the Kanayama shrine, which honors the divine couple, Kanayamahiko-no-Kami and Kanayamahime no-Kami, or the "protectors of blacksmiths and sexuality." Generations ago, it became popular as a gathering point for prayer as it was where sex workers would pray for protection against sexually transmitted infections and bad fortune. Patrons would also use the area as a pit stop where they would receive services from sex workers. It space doubled as a place for people suffering from all ailments to pray safely at night. Eventually, people wanted a place to pray in broad daylight, no matter who they were. Thus, the festival was born.
Another legend, tells the story of a demon who fell in love with a woman and hid inside her vagina. Unfortunately for her husband, the demon bit off the husband's penis -- twice. The woman went to a blacksmith who created a metal penis with the intention to break off the demon's teeth. Since then, they've been commemorated through the Kanayama Shrine. The shrines have since gathered a parade's worth of support and have become a creative way to give back to underrepresented communities. During the parade, you can see men in drag carrying a large pink penis called the Elizabeth Mikoshi, donated by a drag queen club called The Elizabeth. As a way to remember those before them, all proceeds raised go directly to HIV research.
A Look at Japan’s Annual Penis Worshipping Festival
The Kanamara Festival (かなまら祭り) is held on the first Sunday in April every year at the Kanayama Shrine in Kawasaki, Japan. The shrine is just a three-minute walk from Kawasaki-Daishi Station on the Keikyu-Daishi Line.
The festival centers around penises, which appear everywhere, as candy, on hats, and on clothing. Phallic-shaped objects or anything which has to do with sex are sold all around the shrine.
In recent years, the festival has gained popularity among foreign residents in Japan, who flock to the festival in great numbers to see the penis-shaped objects. Don’t be surprised if half of the people you see are foreign. The staff are very friendly and can speak basic English.
Here’s How They Celebrate “Penis Day” In Japan
The first Sunday of April every year in Japan is essentially National Penis Day. They celebrate with parades and large phalluses all around the city.
The purpose of the festival is to celebrate fertility.
People of all ages participate in the annual Penis Festival or Kanamara Matsuri (Festival of the Steel Phallus) held at the Wakamiya Hachimangu Shrine, which promotes safe sex and AIDS awareness.
Japanese city to host annual 'Penis Festival'
The first Sunday of April at the Kanayama Shrine in Kawasaki
Revelers in a Japanese city are preparing for the Kanamara Matsuri, an annual celebration also known as the "Penis Festival."
The Kanamara Matsuri, which roughly translates to "Festival of the Steel Phallus," begins each year on the first Sunday of April at the Kanayama Shrine in Kawasaki. The festival centers around the Shinto god Kanayama-hiko and the goddess Kanayama-hime. The deities are associated with the metallurgic arts and sexual health.
Revelers at the festival traditionally include sex workers seeking protection from disease and in modern times the crowd has grown to include LGBTQ groups seeking sexual blessings and married couples praying for fertility and healthy children. The Kanayama Shrine now donates proceeds from the festival to research into HIV/AIDS.
