Kanamara Matsuri
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| Kanamara Matsuri | |
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A crowd gathers at Kanamara Matsuri festival.
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| Observed by | Kanayama shrine, Kawasaki, Japan |
| Type | Religious |
| Date | First Sunday in April |
| 2023 date | April 2 |
| 2024 date | April 7 |
| 2025 date | April 6 |
| 2026 date | April 5 |
| Frequency | annual |
The Shinto Kanamara Matsuri (かなまら祭り?, "Festival of the Steel Phallus") is held each spring at the Kanayama Shrine (金山神社 Kanayama-jinja?) in Kawasaki, Japan. The exact dates vary: the main festivities fall on the first Sunday in April. The penis, as the central theme of the event, is reflected in illustrations, candy, carved vegetables, decorations, and a mikoshi parade.[1][2][3][4][5]
The Kanamara Matsuri is centred on a local penis-venerating shrine. The legend being that a sharp-toothed demon (vagina dentata) hid inside the vagina of a young woman and castrated two young men on their wedding nights.[6] As a result, the young woman sought help from a blacksmith, who fashioned an iron phallus to break the demon's teeth, which led to the enshrinement of the item.[7] This legend in Ainu language was published as "The Island of Women" by Basil Hall Chamberlain[8]
The Kanayama Shrine was popular among prostitutes who wished to pray for protection from sexually transmitted infections.[9]
It is also said the shrine offers divine protections for business prosperity, and for the clan's prosperity; and for easy delivery, marriage, and married-couple harmony.
The festival started in 1977.[10] It used to be a small festival, but it has become bigger and bigger.[10] Today, the festival has become something of a tourist attraction and is used to raise money for HIV research.[11]
Contents
Gallery
See also
- Hōnen Matsuri (Harvest Festival), whose main features include a 2.5 meter-long wooden phallus
- Phallic processions
- Vagina Dentata (toothed vagina)
- Tyrnavos, a city in Greece that holds an annual Phallus festival
- Ōkunitama Shrine (friendship shrine)
References
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- ↑ Chamberlain, B. H. "The Island of Women" Aino Folk-Tales, 1888. pp. vii, 37.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 世界も驚くニッポン旅行100: テーマでめぐる!47都道府県ローカル旅 PHP研究所, Jul 4, 2013
- ↑ http://www.heraldsun.com.au/travel/photos-fn2wzol2-1225975486025?page=4
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kanamara Festival. |
- A day at the Kanamara Matsuri in Yamasaki
- The shrine's festival webpage (Japanese)
- A report of the event (illustrated)
- Another report (unillustrated)
- A picture of the object of veneration
- Kanamara Matsuri Video
- Explanation of the history of the festival with a detailed schedule of the festivities.
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