The Mara Kannon Shrine

About 450 years ago, in the area including the North part of Kyushu and chuguk area, (in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Hiroshima, Fukuoka) Mr Oji was a government politician. Mr Sue worked for Mr Oji but Sue wanted to destroy Mr Oji and control the area.

So Oji and his family, include childrenhad to escape, they ran away to Nagato. Mr Oji was caught on the way to the shrine, but before that, to save his son, he disgused him as a girl and hid him in the local shrine.

Mr Sue found the son and he caught him and chopped his head off. Because the son was disguised as a woman, he both chopped his head and penis to prove he killed the son. He brought the head and the penis  back as proofs.

When locals heard about the killing they started to make wood and ceramic phalluses out of respect to the boy. From then on, they never stopped making them.

The shrine was built about 450 after his death. People built the small, very tiny hut, the shrine and put some penises in here.

Ever since then people think this place is  a good place to pray for fertility,  people  go there to pray. especially if they have  problems to have children. It happened, stories tell, that after visiting the shrine they could have the children and then the stories are spread, more and more people come to visit. The old story is very much alive.