It's an ancient Japanese festival, Kanamara Matsuri it is called, translated as Festival of the Steel Phallus or put more crudely, Festival of the Iron Penis. 
It all began with a 17th century legend that goes thus:
A sharp-toothed demon hid inside the vagina of a young woman who wedded two men. On both wedding nights, the demon castrated the men by biting their penises off.
A sharp-toothed demon hid inside the vagina of a young woman who wedded two men. On both wedding nights, the demon castrated the men by biting their penises off.
The young woman sought help, which came from a blacksmith who made an iron phallus.
The demon bit down on the phallus and broke his teeth, and was thus vanquished. The blacksmith then built a 1-meter “Steel Phallus” to honor the Shinto deities of fertility and childbirth.
The demon bit down on the phallus and broke his teeth, and was thus vanquished. The blacksmith then built a 1-meter “Steel Phallus” to honor the Shinto deities of fertility and childbirth.
Prostitutes are believed to have prayed there for protection from STDs, nowadays the festival is used to raise money for research into HIV.
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