A Wooden Penis Doesn't Shrink in Cold Weather

Fertility festivals take place on Feb. 12 each year across Japan. We went up to the Niigata area to witness one of the festivals. A large wooden penis is housed in its own shrine and taken out once a year for the festival. It's mounted to a wooden frame and women ride it around in the street. Riding the penis gives women good luck. Before the penis is ridden by the women, villagers stand in line for a chance to pray to it and stand next to it. The snow fell and the air was cold, but seeing smiling women riding a wooden penis warms the soul in a way that allows one to endure even the harshest weather.

left: People in line to pray to the town's wooden penis. Stone penis sculptures point toward the sky at the base of the roped tree.













left: Sake with dead fish floating around in the cup. I didn't try any, but it smelled delicious.












left: Before any villagers could ride the wooden wang, three women in kimonos did the deed and posed for pictures as a way of starting off the festivities.










left: Securing the cock, the man in the black hat guides it home with his hand.












left: Colleen riding a 7 foot penis













left: Col loving the ride



























left: Man in the crowd