Not for pulic, Kanamara Penis (Utamaro) Festival 2021

Kanayama shrine, the organizer of Kanayama (Utamaro) Fesitival, announced that the scale down of kanamara festival 2021 and no showing performance for tourist, over concern about the COVID-19 pandemic. Mikiho asked to organizer and she answered by facebook massanger. And they announced via their twitter account also.

It will be hold on 4th April 2021.

This year also, any penis mikoshi parades , the performing, nor penis ravish carving will not be conducted.
All event for tourist is NOT held as same as last year.

Few ritual service will be coundcted, but it is not for public nor tourist. It will be taken by only for few ritual people who lives in local.

For ritual service, at 9AM untill noon, tourist or visitors can not enter in.

Kanayama shirine and Wakamiya Hachimangu shrine follow Japanese govenmental policy for COVID-19.

Written by Mikiho(KD tour), 17th, March, 2021

What is Kanamara Maturi?

It is the most famous and most attractive event in KD area. It is translated " Festival" but it is a religious service.

The Shinto Kanamara Matsuri (かなまら祭り, "Festival of the Steel Phallus") is held each the first April at the Kanayama Shrine (金山神社 Kanayama-jinja) in Kawasaki, Japan. The phallus, as the central theme of the event, is reflected in the illustrations, candy, carved vegetables, decorations, and a mikoshi parade.

The Kanamara Matsuri is centered on a local penis-venerating shrine. The legend being that a jealous sharp-toothed demon hid inside the vagina of a young woman the demon fell in love with and bit off penises of two young men on their wedding nights. After that the 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. This legend in Ainu language was published as "The Island of Women" by Basil Hall Chamberlain

The Kanayama Shrine was popular among prostitutes who wished to pray for protection from sexually transmitted infections.

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 1969. Today, the festival has become something of a tourist attraction and is used to raise money for HIV research.--via wikipedia(kanamara matsuri)

History of Kawasaki City and Kanamara Festival

Kawasaki city was a post town in Edo-Era(around the 17th Century, Samurai period) who go out and come into Edo. The more population in Japan grows, the more travelers stay in Kawasaki post town, so more more inn opened.Competition between inns increased, some inn engaged in prostitution to attract travelers.

Inn hired women as "meal-serving woman", but in fact they worked as a prostitute. The beginning of the 18th Century, each inn was allowed to have 2 prostitutes by Tokugawa Shogun government.

They are exposed to sexually transmitted diseases(STD). So they visit Kanayama Shrine, that dedicated to a divine couple celebrated as the protectors of blacksmiths and of sexuality, and pray for avoiding STDs and their business success. It is called "Jibeta Festival", roots of Kanamara Festival.

*photo by Raijindo, the year 2018