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Thousands Watch On As Giant Phallus Is Paraded During Penis Festival

Thousands Watch On As Giant Phallus Is Paraded During Penis Festival

The annual festival in Japan attracts tourists from around the world

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

Thousands of people have been parading through the streets of Japan holding giant penises.

Yep, you heard that right. The Honen-sai festival is an annual event which sees crowds of residents and tourists line the streets to watch on as the procession of larger than life willies pass by.

But this is no joke and is taken pretty seriously - before the celebration begins, priests scatter 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'.

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

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

When it was first carved, the todger 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.

Thousands lined the roads to see the giant wooden penis carried to a shrine.
PA

The festival reportedly 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.

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.

Visitors can enjoy a plethora of phallic-shaped sweet treats.
PA

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.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Food, religion, World News, Interesting, Japan