Sanja Matsuri (Three Shrines Festival) is one of the largest Shinto festivals in Tokyo. It is also considered to be one of the most exciting!

The festival is celebrated on the third Sunday of May and lasts for three days. 
It is held in honor of Sensō-ji Temple and Asakusa-jinja shrine’s three founders : Hinokuma Hamanari, Hinokuma Takenari, and Hajino Manakachi.

The Sanja Matsuri features about one hundred portable shrines in which Shinto deities are symbolically placed into and paraded the streets to bring good fortune to the local businesses and residents.

 

Where is it at?

Sanja Matsuri is celebrated at the Sensō-ji Temple and Asakusa-jinja shrine in Asakusa district in Tokyo. This district retains the feeling of old Tokyo, with many traditional craft shops and street-food stalls located along Nakamise Street near the temple. 

We can see smaller neighborhood mikoshi on the streets of Asakusa throughout the festival.  Asakusa will be packed with food stalls, festival games and revelers amid a lively atmosphere of Japanese drums and flutes.

 

How does it start?

Sanja Matsuri was first held in 1312 and was originally called a "boat-togyo" (god carried on a boat) festival.

It is said that a gold statue of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy, appeared one day in the Sumida River. The fishermen who found it put the statue back in the water, but reportedly, it kept returning to them. So the temple was built in honor of Kannon. A shrine housing the gold statue was created there as well and placed on a boat floating on the Sumida River.

 

Mikoshi (portable shrine) parade

Currently, there are three mikoshis in Asakusa-jinja shrine, which are used in the Sanja Matsuri. During the festival, symbols of each of the three temple founders are transferred to Ichinomiya (first shrine), Ninomiya (second shrine), and Sannomiya (third shrine), and they are then paraded through the crowded streets.

 

Tamafuri

If you watch the parade, you might be shocked when you see people shaking the mikoshis! This is the act of “tamafuri,” which means giving vitality to “tama” (life or soul) by “furi” (swinging or shaking). So those carrying the mikoshis will violently shake them during the procession! This is performed to increase the spiritual power of the gods. It is also believed to bring about a good harvest, a bountiful catch, and the eradication of disease.

Find out more about Matsuris in Tokyo, click here.