I didn't quite believe it at first. I surfed the net thinking it was an April Fool's joke. No, it wasn't. I know I am going to regret using these words, it looks like the real deal. On hindsight, it was perhaps not the best of ideas of scroll through pictures of the event without an undue explanation to anyone else within viewing range of my computer. Admittedly, it is a tad too late for damage control.

So what am I going on about? A bit of more-than-I-need-to-know information about a fertility festival in Japan. It's called Kaname Matsuri which translates into Festival of the Steel Phallus. Think about the reference to the 'real deal'. That's right, it is a festival dedicated to, and here I borrow a word from Terry Pratchett, the male wingo. In all fairness, it's not unlike many other fertility festivals around the word where everyone rejoices over birth and new beginnings. Having said that, it takes a bit of time to get used to the phallic shaped candy, ice creams and what not. By the way, given its theme (fertility, not the phallus), it's no surprise that it is a spring event.

Click here for pictures of the festival via Flickr (@elmimmo's photostream)

Truth be told, it looks like colorful, lively and somewhat innocent festival. It was nice to note that, as Wiki pointed out, some of the proceeds from the festival funded HIV research. And maybe the most important point is that we shouldn't be too quick to dismiss the ways of another culture. After all, the folks at this festival probably wonder at the logic behind some of Rammstein's live concerts. Or Laibach's weird lyrics. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this festival is everyone's openness to the idea of phallus depictions all over the place. It is strange to think that, if we didn't think of certain topics are dastardly taboo, it becomes so commonplace as to be normal dinner conversation.

Photo by elmimmo via Flickr.com