world
Kawasaki Holds Annual Kanamara Festival at Kanayama Shrine
Crowds gathered in Kawasaki on the first Sunday of April for the Kanamara Festival at Kanayama Shrine. The event features portable shrines shaped like phalluses that are carried through the shrine grounds and nearby streets.
May 22, 7:05 PM·1m read1 source
The Japan TimesAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
Each year on the first Sunday of April, large crowds gather in Kawasaki, a city in Kanagawa Prefecture across Tokyo’s southern border. Visitors are directed by security guards to the leafy Kanayama Shrine, located away from the city center. The event is the Kanamara Festival, also called the Festival of the Steel Phallus.
As with other Japanese festivals, the day includes the parading of mikoshi, portable shrines that temporarily house Shinto deities.
At this festival the mikoshi take phallic forms.
One is made of black iron and another of wood. The best-known is a fuchsia-colored, 2-meter-tall sculpture named Elizabeth. The Japan Times reported that a priestess of Kanayama Shrine said the event may look unusual but its origins and purpose point to a deeper meaning.
Transparency
How sources framed this
Single source — no framing comparison available.
CorroborationModerate · 1 source
