The Kanamara Matsurior the “Festival of the Steel Phallus" - a Haibun

                                                                             Photographer: Unknown
Image: Diving at the 1960 Rome Olympics (here)

D for Demeaning Festivities at the ABC of Sports
(originally D was for Diving)

Note: 1 Hank is taken up by the grace of diving
until a news item of today made it convenient
to switch

Note: 2 Hank is game for humor, please take it
as such.

Note: 3 Apologies for the base words used (these are from the
original text not easily substituted so retained as they are)

The Prose
The first Sunday in April marks the celebration of the Shinto fertility festival, the Kanamara Matsurior the “Festival of the Steel Phallus.” Known colloquially as the ‘Penis Festival’
For this year it is on Sunday, 3 April 2016.

While this festival has a deeper meaning, it’s still a penis festival. There are penis hats, penis puppets, penis floats, penis costumes, and since nobody here shies away from sex or the sex organs, you’ll see elderly Japanese alongside young couples seeking cures for impotence and infertility.

 People parade gigantic phallic-shaped mikoshi (portable Shinto shrines) down the streets during the event, as revelers suck on penis lollipops, buy penis-themed memorabilia and pose with sculptures in the shape of — you guessed it — penises.

According to the BBC, the festival is believed to have roots in the 17th century, when prostitutes are said to have prayed for protection from sexually transmitted infections at Kawasaki’s Kanamara shrine.

Today, the festival reportedly raises awareness about safe sex practices and fund raises for HIV prevention
(truncated from news items)

The Haiku
Shinto festival
Safe sex awareness enhanced
fund raising goodness

For A to Z Challenge