Global Ilk Magazine Issue #3 || Kanamara Matsuri | Page 16

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This is a thing, a real festival, that has been
happening for decades and still takes place on the first
Sunday of April. Kanamara Matsuri literally meaning
"Steel Phallus" is an ancient tradition dating back to the
Edo period. This festival is held at the Kanayama Shrine
in Kawasaki and people are meant to celebrate and pray
against sexually transmitted diseases and for fertility,
healthy births, healthy marriages and a mirage of other
things concerning fertility.
The most known part of the festival is the parade
through the streets with massive penis shaped shrines
(mikoshi). The black shrine, “Kanamara Fune Mikoshi”,
rests in a fune(ship), the wooden shrine, “Big Kanamara
Mikoshi”, looks similar to the black shrine and the
most popular shrine “Elizabeth Mikoshi”, is pink and
represents the legendary “steel phallus”; Elizabeth was
donated by a drag queen club in Tokyo and the name of
the club was “Elizabeth Kaikan” and the people carrying
this shrine are transgender females. When not in the
parade Elizabeth is usually found in the Wakamiya
Hachimangu Shrine.
All the proceeds from the items sold during the
festival go to AIDs research. The festival is full of
entertainment from music, to food, traditional dancing
and drinking. The only difference from any other festival
is the half naked people and the amount of transgender
people participating.

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