On the way back from Chiba, my girlfriend and I stopped off at the
Kanamara Festival in Kawasaki. Kanamara means "big iron penis" in Japanese slang, and the festival celebrates fertility.
Several hundred people turned out to suck on penis-shaped lolipops, drink sake from penis-shaped flasks, watch old Japanese women carve giant
daikon radishes into penis shapes, and have their pictures taken astride a giant wooden penis:
The whole thing felt a bit like a tourist attraction, with as many foreigners as Japanese in attendance. But there was also a genuine Shinto ceremony, with various blessings and invocations solemnly uttered by a priest in ceremonial kimono and black cap. Finally, the fesitvities reached their... um,
climax, as a massive pink penis was carried aloft through the streets of the town:
Some religions may frown on displays of sexuality, but Shinto never got the message.
Posted by Chad
Posted by Paul
Posted by cubicle
Upon learning that Japan recognized such a thing as a penis spirit, my friend was forced to reach the same conclusion reached on last week's episode of South Park : "Japanese people have no souls."
Posted by Joe
Posted by Billy Budd
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