Each spring, 1000's of vacationers flock to Kawasaki, Japan, to have a good time one factor – the penis.
Sure, blessed is the male member throughout Kanamara Matsuri - generally known as the “Metal Penis Competition” - which is an annual occasion held on the primary Sunday of April.
And to not mince phrases, it seems to be like Mardi Gras with dongs.
This may occasionally appear odd to some, contemplating Japan is a rustic that's normally related to decorum and discretion with regards to one’s non-public life - particularly sexuality. Nonetheless, everybody exhibits as much as the centrepiece of the occasion: the Mikoshi parade, which options three massive erect (however transportable) shrines carried by means of the streets on floats.
One is a black iron phallus, one is a picket willy, and the third is a pink prick.
However why, you ask?
Effectively, the traditional legend has it that a younger lady as soon as fell sufferer to a jealous demon's curse. The sharp-toothed demon, pushed by envy, selected to cover inside her vagina and bit off her husband’s penis when she tried to have intercourse with him.
If that is sounding just like the inspiration behind the 2007 movie Tooth, you’re not half flawed.
Apparently, the determined lady sought help from a blacksmith who crafted a metallic phallus to outwit the demon. Because the demon tried to chunk down on the metal schlong, its enamel shattered, forcing it to desert the girl's physique. She lived fortunately ever after together with her husband, who someway managed to develop his penis again.
Fairly the feat, you will agree, and the main points are a bit fuzzy for this a part of the story… However hooray for metallic members.
The pageant, which held its first version in 1969 (significantly), commemorates this legend, and the Kanayami Shrine the place the metal phallus resides has change into a focus for couples wishing to wish for fertility and success of their marriage. Intercourse employees would additionally frequent the positioning to wish for cover and to keep away from STDs.
The occasion gained in recognition in 2012, when TV star Matsuko Deluxe – an advocate of intercourse positivity and LGBTQ rights – name-checked the pageant. Now, there are roughly 50,000 attendees annually, with the occasion changing into an vital outlet for LGBTQ teams in Japan.
In the course of the pageant, and far to the delight of vacationers and Instagrammers, penile paraphernalia is bought, male genitalia lollipops are sucked on, and all of the proceeds are donated to HIV analysis.
This yr’s pageant did mark one change, although.
You see, for a number of years, a person in a distressingly detailed penis costume began making the rounds. The primary snag is that the character bears a hanging resemblance to Gachapin, a cuddly character from a kids’s TV program on Fuji TV.
See for your self - and head's up - this can't be unseen:
Yep, there that's.
The costume has been referred to as Gachachin - a play on phrases contemplating the phrase “chin” is a slang phrase for penis - and folks have been alerted to the truth that the character is by no means associated to the shrine. Neither is he the official mascot.
The shrine despatched out a tweet on its official Twitter account final month, as a way to set the file straight:
“As of March 2023, there are not any official mascot characters for our Kanamara Competition. We don't formally recognise the costumed mascot referred to as Gachachin, which is being handled as an official mascot on the Web, in any manner in any way. The maker of the costume carried out with out permission, however took the costume off in the long run, so the shrine discarded it.”
That’s proper – this yr, to keep away from any copyright infringement, the one official penises on the pageant are those carried on individuals’s shoulders.
There really are some sentences you'll be able to't put together your self to put in writing if you get up within the morning...
At any fee, feast your eyes on extra photos from Kanamara Matsuri:
Try the video above for extra footage of the Kanamara Matsuri.
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