Kanamara Matsuri - the cocksuckers' rendez-vous
Kanamara matsuri is THE festival that attracts a maximum of foreigners in Japan. We are so pervert. Pervert enough even not to have this kind of festival at home. Thank you Japan to offer us the opportunity to celebrate even penises. Yes, penises.
A long, long time ago in Kawasaki Daishi (30 minutes from Shinagawa by Keikyu Main Line and Kawasaki Daishi line), too poor young men were unlucky enough to meet a demon that was hiding into a young maid's vagina (a demon with sharp teeth), and they had their penises cut off. Ouch. So, the local shinto shrine immediatly built a giant iron phallus which has been venerated as a "kami" (spirit) since. Once a year, the first Sunday of April, people come and celebrate life / sex / couple harmony / health and so on, because it's fun and because this is not everyday you can openly thank penises to exist in this world.
By the way, the main part of the money raised goes to HIV reasearch. But surprisingly, no condoms in sight. All taboos can not fall in the same time...
The crowd following the great "chinko" (penis)
The shrine of fertility
Nice part-time job, isn't it
Sex toys and "penis energy" marketing
At Kanamara matsuri, it is fashionable to suck penis-shaped candies. Little by little the whole crowd turns into a polite bunch of cocksuckers. This is amazing how everyone (both women and men) is enthusiastic about having one of these candies, and it even doesn't look like a massive porn movie. Once again, the Japanese are able to do anything with such an innocence... For me, I am not sure I look so ingenuous ; several Japanese guys asked me if they could have a picture of me with the candy - and I accepted. I don't want to imagine what they intend to do with the picture...
Let's have a candy, sweetie
Ok, that's enough with penises. Kawasaki also have very beautiful pagodas next to the shrine. It worth to go and have a look !
Daruma-men on the street... I love the way Japanese guys can forget their ego for a while...
That was Kanamara matsuri's fun ! Or how image-freaks Westerners can get inspired by the Japanese and enjoy ridiculous things too, sometimes...