Taga Jinja
At the behest of my companion to the most out of place attraction I have ever attended, here
is the story of Taga Jinja...
In the quiet seaside town of Uwajima, where conservative
Ehime-ites were aghast when a US submarine surfaced, capsizing a local fishing boat,
there is, of all things, a sex museum. Taga Jinja, as it is called, is but a stones throw
from the town's major train station, yet it is
hidden (perhaps purposefully) from the casual visitor. People here call it a fertility museum,
but that seems to be but clothing for the naked truth. It is, rather, a City of Dicks, and
once inside, there is no respite from its in-your-face pornography.
Back in the day, before the Meiji Restoration and puratinism hit Japan, Shinto practice called
for many superstitious fertility practices. Taga Jinja is one of the few shrines that has survived
totally dedicated to sex, and for that reason alone, is may be worth a peek. If you are squeamish and
to such endeavors, however, I can recommend some good books. Because, among other things, the museum
harbors a worldwide study of pubic hair, collected by one man over a substantial length of time I chose to not to inquire about.
Our visit to Taga Jinja - I was accompanied by my friend Amber, from South Dakota and Hondo, Kyushu, respectively -
began at the gates, where small stone phalluses no bigger than a shrub meet the visitor without
warning. Further on, near the Jinja's proper shrine, where people pray (and pay) for fertility,
there is perhaps the largest wooden penis in the entire world. Among spiders, centipedes, and
sunlight widdled sparse by the trees, these items grow moss in the dampness, an eerie and symbolic twist, if you think about it.
Ant covered kanji signs (also mushroom shaped) led us to the visitor's entrance.
Inside, after paying a whopping 800 yen (about US$7) for entry, we witnessed the most amazing array
of trinkets devoted to love-making. From the obligatory kama sutra books to the silver statues
of naked men with a hundred limbs, you could stay at Taga Jinja (though I wouldn't know why anyone would want to)
forever and not see every piece of "art" in the place. Women cling to men on auburn wood
figurines, and soy sauce dishes glorify the male genitalia. There is even a statue of a being
with a white body and a black penis. Much of it we couldn't quite understand, either because of
the language barrier or our sheer stupidity. Was that the first dental dam? or does that depict
what I think it depicts? There were photos of bestiality, sections devoted to S&M, even a display
of the mildest lesbian tendencies here and there, though it was rather apparent that male
homosexuality was frowned upon. We had a favorite - a scandal painting, or a woman behind a
Japanese dressing curtain, masturbating as she watched another couple copulate -
only because of the suspense that it offered, but overall Taga Jinja was only
as entertaining as Tom Green or Howard Stern. If you like them, you'll like this.
Three floors, I moaned to Amber in complaint. Wall to wall, ceiling to floor,
the Taga Jinja was the greatest sex museum I had ever been to. Never mind it is also the
only one and I doubt I will ever go back.
