Pictures of Japan's Iron Penis Festival (Kanamara Matsuri)
On Sunday, thousands gathered in Kawasaki for the Kanamara Matsuri (literally the Festival of the Iron Penis), an event with roots dating back centuries and now one of Japan's best-known fertility festivals.
Kanamara Matsuri - Japan's Iron Penis Festival Pictures:
Kanamara Matsuri had its beginnings in the Edo Period (1603-1868) with
the prayers of women called meshimori onna, according to Wakamiya
Hachimangu, the Shinto shrine in Kawasaki where the event was held.
Meshimori
onna were women employed by the Shogun rulers of Japan during the
feudal era to serve travelers along major roads such as the Tokaido
that ran from Edo (modern Tokyo) to the ancient capital of Kyoto, with
Kawasaki serving as a lodging spot.
Although
the meshimori onna were supposed to serve only food, they also served
themselves for a price, and it was their custom of praying to the gods
that led to the festival as it is today.
Kanamara
Matsuri is said to have positive effectives on business and fertility,
increases the chance of an easy birth, heightens the possibility of
finding a partner, boosts marital harmony and wards off sexually
transmitted diseases.
The
festival, which its organizers describe as being "relaxed and a tad
different," is well-known internationally and attracts hundreds of
foreigners every year.
A
highlight of the festival involves transvestites and transsexuals
carrying a penis-shaped portable shrine (called "Elizabeth,"
incidentally, after the name of the Tokyo gay bar that originally
donated it to the shrine) and screaming out a chant of "Kanamara, dekai
mara (Iron penis, whopping penis)."
The festival and shrine are also dedicated toward raising awareness about AIDS prevention.
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