The Oagata (Vagina Festival) Hounen Matsuri, always takes place on the Sunday closest to March 15, when the Tagata (Penis Festival) festival is held. Like similar fertility festivals, it aims to ensure good harvests and prosperity. The parade is led by Sarutahiko, the kami who shows the way, and features unmarried women or the fertility queen and a huge vaginal symbol made of pink rice, a symbol of fertility.
The Oagata Jinja is a shrine in the city of Inuyama, dedicated to Oagata, a kami who is said to have founded the local area of Owari. It is known for its symbols of female fertility and attracts women seeking marriage or the birth of a child. As such, Oagata Jinja is close to the Tagata Jinja, famous for its Penis Festival, also a fertility festival.
A central role is played by the Hime no miya, where the daughter of O Oagata is worshipped. Known as Tamahime no mikoto, she is a goddess of marriage, pregnancy, safe birth, and happy married life. She is worshipped as the guardian goddess of women.
Vaginal openings as the source of life were widely celebrated in the past, and a keen observer will still find many rocks marked as sacred by a shimenawa. After the Meiji crackdown on such “primitive” and “embarrassing” features, many were removed from public view or destroyed altogether.
- Festival: Vagina Festival (Japan Bizarre Festival).
- Location: Aichi – Inuyama (Oagata Jinja).
- Date: Always held on the Sunday before March 15th.
- Time: 10:00 to 16:30.
- WC: Available.
- Note: Komaki Penis Festival: Every year on March 15th.
Aichi-ken Inuyama-shi Miyayama 3