Sanjya Matsuri: The Lively Festival Chanting Echoes in Asakusa’s Sky

Asakusa Shrine

(Taito City, Tokyo)

【Mikoshi（神輿）】 is a portable shrine used in Shinto festivals. Normally, a deity resides in the main building of a shrine, but during a festival, it is temporarily transferred to the mikoshi and carried through the neighborhood. A typical mikoshi is designed to resemble a shrine, with sturdy wooden beams underneath for carrying. People get closely under the mikoshi, lifting it onto their shoulders to carry it through the streets.

Senso-ji Temple is one of the most famous tourist spot, with its red huge, beautiful main building, in Tokyo. On the precinct there is a small shrine, Asakusa Shrine. Most tourists don’t pay attention to it and may not even notice its existence. This unbeknown shrine hosts one of Tokyo’s most vibrant festivals, Sanja Matsuri, held annually in May. The festival features the dynamic mikoshi procession throughout towns.

The shrine enshrines the three men who were involved in Senso-ji Temple founding. In the year 628, two fisherman brothers went out to fish and caught a wooden statue in their net. However, they had no knowledge of Buddhism, so they threw it back into the water. Strangely, the statue kept getting caught in their net again and again, and they couldn’t catch any fish. Eventually, they decided to take the statue home.

The brothers took it to the village chief, and it turned out to be a statue of Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy in Japanese Buddhism. They enshrined it in a small temple, which marked the beginning of Senso-ji Temple. Later, Asakusa Shrine was established to honor the three men. The ancestors of the village chief have served as the shrine’s chief priests for generations, and the current chief priest is the 63rd in line.

The festival is held to invite the three deities into the town, bringing good fortune and protecting from misfortune. Three large mikoshi belonging to Asakusa Shrine are paraded through the streets. The main mikoshi, topped with a golden phoenix, is said to carry the spirit of the village chief, while the other two represent the fisherman brothers who found the Kannon statue.

Men and women dressed in traditional festival coats lift the heavy mikoshi, each weighing around one ton, onto their shoulders, shouting “Oisa!” and “Seiya!” as they shake it up and down. This energetic motion is believed to elevate the gods’ spirits and spread their blessings.

In addition to the three main mikoshi, each local neighborhood has its own portable shrines, including smaller ones carried by children. Their enthusiastic chants and rhythmic movements captivate the crowds.

The procession goes through the approach to Senso-ji Temple. Souvenir shops line the narrow street, and people pack tightly to watch the mikoshi pass through. On that day, the temple’s large lantern is temporarily raised to allow the shrines to enter the gate.

Sanja Matsuri is a vibrant symbol of Asakusa’s traditional downtown culture and draws about two million visitors over three days. It is believed that the origin of the festival dates back to the 14th century.

Please visit the official website Asakusa Shrine.