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