In early April, scores of revelers collect within the metropolis of Kawasaki, about half-hour south of Tokyo, to rejoice Kanamara Matsuri – Japan’s notorious penis competition, with a reputation translating roughly to Pageant of the Metal Phallus. Kanamara Matsuri’s major festivities have taken place on the primary Sunday of April since 1969 (sure, critically).
On the competition centering on the um, organ and fertility, attendees get to erect gigantic penis statues on handheld shrines, take pleasure in penis-shaped lollipops, purchase penis-shaped candles, and (clearly) costume as penises. There’s a seemingly infinite array of phallic merch!
“Superb. So enjoyable, so distinctive, such a distinct expertise,” one Australian vacationer who went to this 12 months’s gathering advised Euronews. “It’s so bizarre coming from Australia to see one thing like this, but it surely seems like everybody’s having a good time.”
