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Thousands Gather Holding Giant Penises For Honen-Sai Festival In Japan

Thousands Gather Holding Giant Penises For Honen-Sai Festival In Japan

The festival sees a huge 400kg carved wooden penis carried through the streets by men of an 'unlucky age'.

Emma Rosemurgey

Emma Rosemurgey

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Japan holding giant penises.

Nope, we're not talking about some bizarre dream - crowds of residents and tourists gathered to celebrate the annual Honen-Sai Festival which sees a procession of giant willies pass through the streets.

The celebrations - which are taken very seriously in Japan - begin with priests scattering salt along the road to purify the route for the procession of penises.

Every March people gather in the Aichi Prefecture and make their way to Komaki, north of Nagoya, to take part in the bizarre celebration, the focal point of which is a huge 400kg penis carved out of Japanese cypress, which is carried down the streets by men of an 'unlucky age' - whatever age that might be.

The heavy piece of kit, which boasts an impressive 100cm circumference, is then offered to a shrine and prayers are made asking for a good harvest and fertility for these men.

Tourists got into the spirit of the bizarre festival annual event.
PA

When it was first carved, the willy was much smaller and attached to a samurai statue - but over the years has grown larger and larger and now stands at an impressive 2.5 metres.

On even numbered years it is carried from the Shinmei Sha shrine on a large hill, or if it is an odd-numbered year then the procession starts from Kumano-sha Shrine (in odd-numbered years), to another shrine called Tagata Jinja - which dates back over 1,500 years.

Visitors who go to see the spectacle then pay their respects by giving it a cheeky peck on the tip - as you do.

It's thought the festival began in 1977 but could date back as far as the 17th Century, with its roots in a grim tale of a sharp-toothed demon who apparently fell in love with a beautiful woman.

PA Images

However, the demon doesn't take rejection too well and robs her lovers of their old man in a series of pretty gruesome ways.

It's only when a blacksmith forges a steel penis and breaks the demon's teeth, that he is defeated.

While visitors are enjoying the parade they can enjoy some live music from a band of Shinto priests, drink as much sake as they can handle, or sink their teeth into some chocolate dipped bananas and uncircumcised hot dogs?

They can even pick up some mementos from the strange day, with wooden carvings among the most popular goodies bought by tourists. But if that's not really your thing then there is a plethora of phallic fruit and veg on offer as well.

Now, when can we expect to see a series of giant vaginas paraded through the town?

Featured Image Credit: PA Images

Topics: Life News, Real