I could more tastefully refer to these events as “Japanese fertility festivals”, but let us be frank here. These festivals contain penis and vagina-shaped sweets, Japanese food specially moulded into these aforementioned shapes, and gigantic wooden phalluses a-plenty. These are commonly referred to as penis festivals, and they are a concept so bizarre in most other countries of the world that I, at least, cannot help but find the very concept of them extremely cool.
Among the dazzling array of souvenirs available at penis festivals are matching his and hers mochi cakes, which challenge the consumers to decide for themselves which one is “his” and which is “hers” (above), and chocolate-covered bananas with slight adjustments made to their shape (below).
What I find particularly interesting about these festivals is that they happen in Japan, of all countries. When I started becoming interested in Japan and Japanese people, I came to the (understandable, I believe) conclusion that the Japanese are quite prudish as a nation. The men are formal and shy, the women are cute and giggly and stick together, and issues of love and sex do not seem to enter the equation with Japanese people. But this is such a clear example of how little you can assume about certain groups of people from their outer appearances alone. Because really, the Japanese are quite interested in love and sex, and their interest manifests itself in a number of interesting (and, let’s be honest, kind of funny) ways. You only need to look at the sheer extent of the Japanese porn industry to see this. So perhaps to some, the existence of these festivals in Japan might seem more bizarre than if they existed somewhere else. But to people who know more about Japan and its people, this may not be so surprising at all.
These festivals have been in existence for hundreds upon hundreds of years. Their original (and in a way, modern day) purpose is to pray for a fruitful harvest, both in terms of farming, and in terms of being fertile and having luck with childbirth. It is of course important to remember the real meaning behind all of the obvious toilet humour that can be had here. In recent years the sheer bizarreness and extravagance of these festivals has made them popular with the Japanese and tourists alike. These festivals include the Kanamara Matsuri (“The Festival of the Steel Phallus”) held in Kawasaki, the Bonden festival in Akita, and the many Hounen Matsuri (“Fruitful year festival”), the biggest of which takes place in Komaki, just north of Nagoya. I am going to write about this particular Hounen Matsuri, as it appears to be the most well-known of the Penis Festivals.
All Hounen Matsuri take place on the 15th March every year. In Komaki, the festival starts at 10am with celebration and preparation for the festival’s main event, the progression. During these morning hours, people can explore the numerous stalls at Tagata Jinja. These stalls sell all sorts of foods and souvenirs, mostly phallus-shaped or phallus-related. Sake is also passed freely around from large wooden barrels.
Two more of the popular souvenirs you can purchase at penis festivals are penis and vagina-shaped lolly-pops (above), and penis-shaped candles (below).
At 2pm everybody gathers either at a shrine called Shinmei Sha (in even-numbered years), or Kumano Sha shrine (in odd-numbered years), for the start of the progression. The Shinto priests say prayers and give blessings to the participants (who are all dressed in ceremonious clothing), and the 280kg, 2.5m long wooden phallus made fresh for the occasion every year. This phallus will be carried by 60 men and women of unlucky ages (36 years old for women, 42 years old for men), from the initial shrine to Tagata shrine. The progression then sets off, to the tune of Shinto priests playing musical instruments.
The upper photo is of the wooden phallus on its glorious journey down the beaten path. The lower photo is of the phallus inside Tagata Jinja. Often people will visit the phallus during the year to pray for fertility.
Every now and then during the progression the phallus is spun rapidly around. When the progression reaches Tagata Jinja, the phallus is spun around once more before it is set down, and the priests pray again. Everybody then assembles in the square outside Tagata Jinja and waits for the mochinage (rice cake throwing), where golf ball-sized, rock-hard rice cakes are thrown down by the officials from raised platforms. Several ambulances are often waiting by the gates of the shrine. The festival ends at around 4:30pm.
What I find particularly interesting about these festivals is that they happen in Japan, of all countries. When I started becoming interested in Japan and Japanese people, I came to the (understandable, I believe) conclusion that the Japanese are quite prudish as a nation. The men are formal and shy, the women are cute and giggly and stick together, and issues of love and sex do not seem to enter the equation with Japanese people. But this is such a clear example of how little you can assume about certain groups of people from their outer appearances alone. Because really, the Japanese are quite interested in love and sex, and their interest manifests itself in a number of interesting (and, let’s be honest, kind of funny) ways. You only need to look at the sheer extent of the Japanese porn industry to see this. So perhaps to some, the existence of these festivals in Japan might seem more bizarre than if they existed somewhere else. But to people who know more about Japan and its people, this may not be so surprising at all.
These festivals have been in existence for hundreds upon hundreds of years. Their original (and in a way, modern day) purpose is to pray for a fruitful harvest, both in terms of farming, and in terms of being fertile and having luck with childbirth. It is of course important to remember the real meaning behind all of the obvious toilet humour that can be had here. In recent years the sheer bizarreness and extravagance of these festivals has made them popular with the Japanese and tourists alike. These festivals include the Kanamara Matsuri (“The Festival of the Steel Phallus”) held in Kawasaki, the Bonden festival in Akita, and the many Hounen Matsuri (“Fruitful year festival”), the biggest of which takes place in Komaki, just north of Nagoya. I am going to write about this particular Hounen Matsuri, as it appears to be the most well-known of the Penis Festivals.
All Hounen Matsuri take place on the 15th March every year. In Komaki, the festival starts at 10am with celebration and preparation for the festival’s main event, the progression. During these morning hours, people can explore the numerous stalls at Tagata Jinja. These stalls sell all sorts of foods and souvenirs, mostly phallus-shaped or phallus-related. Sake is also passed freely around from large wooden barrels.
Two more of the popular souvenirs you can purchase at penis festivals are penis and vagina-shaped lolly-pops (above), and penis-shaped candles (below).
At 2pm everybody gathers either at a shrine called Shinmei Sha (in even-numbered years), or Kumano Sha shrine (in odd-numbered years), for the start of the progression. The Shinto priests say prayers and give blessings to the participants (who are all dressed in ceremonious clothing), and the 280kg, 2.5m long wooden phallus made fresh for the occasion every year. This phallus will be carried by 60 men and women of unlucky ages (36 years old for women, 42 years old for men), from the initial shrine to Tagata shrine. The progression then sets off, to the tune of Shinto priests playing musical instruments.
The upper photo is of the wooden phallus on its glorious journey down the beaten path. The lower photo is of the phallus inside Tagata Jinja. Often people will visit the phallus during the year to pray for fertility.
Every now and then during the progression the phallus is spun rapidly around. When the progression reaches Tagata Jinja, the phallus is spun around once more before it is set down, and the priests pray again. Everybody then assembles in the square outside Tagata Jinja and waits for the mochinage (rice cake throwing), where golf ball-sized, rock-hard rice cakes are thrown down by the officials from raised platforms. Several ambulances are often waiting by the gates of the shrine. The festival ends at around 4:30pm.
The hard mochi cakes, as seen in the upper picture, are thrown at the audience of the penis festivals as depicted in the lower picture. Clearly the audiences enjoy this part of the festival, but I would personally recommend that people wear helmets.
In terms of festivals in Japan, I would say that this, along with the New Year’s celebrations I mentioned in another of my articles, are probably among the most exciting festivals Japan has to offer. I would highly recommend that everybody tries to attend as many festivals as they wish, but if you want to experience a truly cool festival, the penis festivals are where it is at.
Special thanks to wikipedia.org and gakuranman.com for the illuminating insight.
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