Bonden: A rural Japanese festival in Yokote city where groups of men wearing pajamas in severe winter weather build and decorate long rods that they carry two kilometers uphill to shove into the town's temple. The Bonden directly symbolizes the penis. According to my cohort there are 120 towns across Japan practicing Bonden festivals. Each is a bit different. Yokote's Bonden is over 400 years old.

In February 2002, I visited Yokote to see a friend Itoi-san, whom I had met at Tsurunoyu. He runs the local office of the Tapurosu propane gas company. Tapurosu had built their own Bonden, and Itoi-san welcomed me to participate in the festival with them. Thank you much!

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