Phallus Parade

Spring has definitely sprung here in central Japan. The cherry blossoms (sakura) are out in full force, more and more women are wearing their traditional yukatas, and large pink penises have been spotted strolling through the streets of Kawasaki, Japan, just south of Tokyo.

This past Sunday, April 1, the people of Kawasaki and neighboring areas got together for the annual Kanamara Matsuri, or "Festival of the Steel Phallus" (click the link to read the history). And, like many other like-minded gaijin and Nihon-jin, we joined in the festivities. Our friend, Julie, was kind enough to watch Josh for the day while we hopped the train for the matsuri. A friend of ours from San Diego, Karthik, recently accepted a job here in Yokosuka, and he willingly accepted our invitation to join us at the festival.

I can honestly say, without a shadow of a doubt, that this festival was like nothing that I've ever seen before. Upon arrival, it didn't look much different than any other festival. When we first entered beneath the large torii gate at the front of the shrine, we were met by vendors selling all kinds of yummy foods, so we quickly grabbed some yaki-soba, some yakitori and some beer. After satisfying our hunger, we started to walk around and that's when it got... well... interesting.

The first thing we noticed was a group of people with large daikon radishes and large, sharp knives. We quickly realized that the knives were being used to carve "manly" shapes out of the daikons. Adjacent to the daikon shapers sat two 8 to 10 foot long wooden penises, which people proceeded to ride like mechanical bulls. Vendors in this area weren't selling lunch, they were selling handkerchiefs, tapestries, and artwork; all with sexual themes. One vendor was even selling hard candies (like lollipops), shaped to resemble the genitals of both men and women.

But around the final corner was the granddaddy of all sights... the large pink penis portable shrine (mikoshi). Actually, there were three portable shrines at the event, but the pink one really stood out in the crowd. As we arrived in this area, the shinto priests were starting their prayers in front of the mikoshis. After going through the traditions, the mikoshis were released from the resting points and carried through the streets of Kawasaki.

It was really great experiencing this matsuri. I was very surprised to see the number of children that were in attendance and participating, too. Typically, many Japanese people tend to be a little more reserved than Westerners (in my humble opinion). I've heard stories about how some Japanese have known people socially for years, but still do not call them "friend" or even hug them, etc. But at this event, people of all races, genders, and ages were hanging out together, laughing, and having a very merry time. Perhaps we all had a little spring fever, perhaps it was the subject matter of the festival... whatever it was, it was definitely priceless.

Our photos are posted in the Gallery, dated 04/06/2007. However, be forewarned that the events I described above are photographed in detail and some might find them to be "adult content".