See photos from the annual penis festival, Japan

An annual festival held to celebrate PENISES has been held - and hundreds have gathered to see enormous phalluses parade the streets.

Shinto Kanamara Matsuri, aka the Festival of the Steel Phallus, sees giant manhood-shaped shrines take over streets in Kawasaki, Japan.

Held every year, the event sees visitors coming from far afield to watch parades and chow down on phallus-shaped lollipops.

The event, which started in 1977 at the Kanayama Shrine , celebrates the male appendage and fertility .

It is believed to have its roots in the 17th Century, following the gory tale of a sharp-toothed demon who fell in love with a beautiful woman.

Spurned by his lady, the demon proceeded to rob her subsequent lovers of their pride and joy in particularly horrific ways.

It was not until a local blacksmith forged a steel phallus, which broke the demon's teeth, that it was vanquished forever and the woman was free.

The "Festival of the Steel Phallus" was then born and the Kanayama Shrine became renowned as a site for sex workers to pray for protection against STIs . Nowadays, it reportedly raises awareness about safe sex practices and raises funds for HIV prevention.

Daily Mirror

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