Kanagawa

Kanamara Matsuri or Festival of the Steel Phallus is an annual Shinto fertility festival that is held in the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Held in spring on the first sunday in april, the festival was centered around a local penis-venerating shrine once popular among prostitutes who wished to pray for protection against sexually transmitted diseases. But now the festival has become somewhat of a tourist attraction and is used to raise money for HIV research.

The penis forms the central theme of the main festivities and is reflected everywhere, in illustrations, candy, carved vegetables, decorations, and a mikoshi parade. There are also beliefs that there are divine protection also in business and the clan's prosperity, easy delivery, marriage, and harmony in a couple's marriage.

Every year more than 30,000 worshippers gather for this Kanamara Matsuri festival that dates back over 300 years.

Japan - Kanagawa