Kanamara Matsuri Draws Revelers to Kawasaki for Annual Festival

Key points

• Kanamara Matsuri was held in Kawasaki on April 2, continuing an annual tradition whose main festivities have taken place in early April since 1969.
• The festival features large phallic statues carried on shrines, themed sweets and candles, and related costumes and merchandise.
• Merchandise proceeds support HIV research, while the event also promotes safe sex and has provided an inclusive space for Japanese LGBTQ communities.
• Attendance, previously estimated at about 50,000 people annually, has declined in recent years amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Kanayama Shrine’s traditions include prayers for protection from sexually transmitted infections and for fertility, contributing to the festival’s modern origins.