The legend behind the occasion portrays the woes of a woman who had a demon hiding in her vagina. This demon had razor-sharp teeth and ate anything that entered its domain.
As it had already castrated two unfortunate husbands, the poor woman decided to seek out a blacksmith who could forge a metal penis (kanemara). Her clever plan worked, and after breaking its teeth on the solid metal, the demon ran away to the underground.
The annual event takes place in the Kawasaki Daishi Temple on the first Sunday of April. Tens of thousands of people come to celebrate the woman’s good fortune by cheering on groups of men who parade huge pink penises at the Kanemara Festival.
Needless to say, you vendor sell a multitude of symbolic snacks in can you get hungry, and every imaginable type of trinket as a memento – just to make sure you don’t forget the experience…
