This weekend the Hodare Festival got underway in Niigata, Japan. Hodare means "male genitals", and the centerpiece of this Shinto fertility festival is a giant wooden penis.
Measuring 2.2m and weighting 600kg, the wooden penis in enshrined and carries religious significance. People believe praying to it or touching it can bring marital bliss and fertility as well as good luck.
Newly married brides ride the large phallus, which men carry, during the procession.
The festival is held every year on the second Sunday in March.
At the festival, there are also handmade "penis" and "pussy" candy. The Japanese descriptions for these treats are equally blunt.
Japanese site Gigazine was in attendance at this year's Hodare Festival. Check out more photos in the link below.
巨大な男根のご神体に初嫁を乗せて練り歩く奇祭「ほだれ祭り」写真＆映像集 [Gigazine]