Kanamara Matsuri — the steel phallus procession of Kawasaki (Japan)
On the first Sunday of April, in Kawasaki, between Tokyo and Yokohama, a Shinto procession moves to the sound of flutes — and the shrines it carries make you smile first, then think. The Kanamara Matsuri, the "Festival of the Steel Phallus", parades gigantic phalluses on portable shrines (mikoshi), the most famous of which is candy-pink and named "Elizabeth": it was donated by a drag club. All around: suggestively shaped lollipops, carved vegetables, costumes, festival stalls. Its nickname, the "Penis Festival", travels the world every spring.
But behind the humour — embraced, joyful, very Japanese — there is a shrine and centuries of devotion. The Kanayama-jinja, within Kawasaki's Wakamiya Hachimangu, has been prayed to since the Edo period for fertility, safe childbirth and protection against sexually transmitted diseases. Local legend tells of a young woman delivered from a demon hidden within her by a steel phallus forged by a blacksmith — hence the name: Kanamara, the steel phallus. The shrine honours the Kanayama deities of the forge.
In its current form, the festival was launched in 1969, and it found a second very contemporary vocation: to raise funds for HIV/AIDS research and celebrate diversity. TravelBeginsAt40 is a guidebook that speaks of tens of thousands of visitors — a guide figure, quoted as such. The next edition is expected on Sunday, April 4, 2027 (Wikipedia, Japanistry and Japanden agree; only one guide announces April 5 — we will hold on the 4, to re-check early 2027). Honorable mention, at the door of our Top 10 of the most unusual festivals: the brilliant proof that a party can be both grivoise, sacred and generous.
Practical information
Kanamara Matsuri (Festival of the Steel Phallus)
Where: Kanayama shrine (Kanayama-jinja), Kawasaki (Kanagawa prefecture), Japan
Next edition: Sunday, 4 April 2027 (first Sunday of April) — one guide says 5 April; date used: the 4th, to be re-checked in early 2027
Organisers: Kanamara Matsuri Executive Committee and Kanayama shrine
Official page (Kawasaki tourism): https://www.kawasakidaishi-kanko.com/english/matsuri/kanamara.html
Tickets: prices not published in the sources consulted (checked on 17 October 2026)
— Moïse 1er, the Festival Explorer