Phallic Veneration at Kanamara Matsuri

Written by: Musashi Sukebe on April 12, 2009 at 7:12 pm | In Erotic Japan Blog | No Comments

Kanamara Matsuri is a yearly festival in Kawasaki, Japan, where throngs of onlookers gather to cheer on a parade of giant phalluses. Legend has it that in the olden days, a sharp-toothed demon hid inside a Kawasakian girl’s vagina, and a local blacksmith built an iron penis to break its teeth and free the young woman. The penis resides in the local temple most of the time, but one day a year, it is taken out and paraded around the town, its carriers shouting “deka mara (big penis)!”

Shops line the streets of Kawasaki, selling the typical festival assortment of mochi, chicken skewers, and beer, but the souvenirs in everyone’s mouths were these penis-shaped lollipops:

Kanamara matsuri only happens on the first Sunday of every April, but Flickr has a great collection of photos from the event, and if you’d like to see the object of veneration, you can find it year-round at the Kanamara shrine. Many of its visitors are gawking tourists, but natives also visit the shrine to pray for fertility, good luck in bed, and protection from STD’s.

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Tags: japan, kanamara matsuri, kawasaki, penis, tokyo, 過生ら祭り
Category: Erotic Japan Blog
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Osada Steve: King of Tokyo’s Shibari Scene

Written by: Musashi Sukebe on March 26, 2009 at 5:44 pm | In Erotic Japan Blog | 1 Comment

(Photo copyright Max Hodges)

Ever heard of Osada Steve? If you’re not a regular on the traditional Japanese bondage scene, you may not have, but within the shibari houses of Tokyo’s seedy Kabukicho district, he’s the Man. Shibari, also known as kinbaku, is the Japanese art of erotic bondage, differentiated from Western bondage by its focus on ties that actively pleasure the bottom, as well as its minimalist, often asymmetric, aesthetic. While not the only culture to enjoy tying their lovers up, the Japanese may be more open about it than most; here’s a demonstration of the shibari “rope harness” on the prime-time comedy show Yarisugi Koji:

Osada Steve is one of the few living grandmasters of this art (yes, in Japan there’s a grandmaster for everything), and he teaches classes, performs live, and runs several Shibari-oriented websites. He also has a (NSFW) flickr stream, where you can see artful shots of his beautiful ropework.

The star student of Osada Eikichi, usually recognized as popularizing shibari and bringing it into the Japanese mainstream, he is the first and last word in traditional Japanese rope arts, and mesmerizing to watch- his hands dance over his subject, rhythmically and deliberately, as he combines sexual power-play and minimalist art. A review of Osada Steve performing at Loft Plus One captures the essence of performance shibari, a stage art exclusive to Japan:

A moonlit stage and a large, gently moving, white cloth bag create an air of mystery and conjure up a world of the surreal where anything might happen as if in a dream. Luckily for us this pouch contains and this dream revolves around the ravishing Asagi Ageha, Steve’s partner of choice of late and a beautiful girl that’s fast becoming a major star in the Tokyo SM nightclub scene.

After emerging from her silky cocoon the butterfly Ageha is captured in a beautifully executed Tasuki shibari before being lifted aloft by Steve into a graceful Aomuke zuri (face-up suspension) and spun as if on a silken web. This is a gorgeous image of kinbaku and worthy of the great Akechi Denki. Without missing a beat Steve then folds his partner into a graceful ball and suspends her head down for more vertiginous spins. The effect is dramatic as the sensei propels the bound and spinning girl out and over the audience before treating her to a thorough waxing that leaves her dazed.

By now these partners have performed so often that every move is picture perfect and the intimate understanding between them always results in great drama and beauty. This is one dream it’s a shame to wake up from.

Hear an exclusive interview with the man himself, as well as walking narration that unlocks the secrets of all the dark stairwells and neon facades just east of Shinjuku station, with the Tokyo Realtime: Kabukicho guide from White Rabbit Press.

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Tags: bondage, kabukicho, kinbaku, osada steve, shibari, tokyo
Category: Erotic Japan Blog
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