Held at Asakusa Shrine every third weekend of May, Sanja Matsuri is one of the Three Great Shinto Festivals of Tokyo. Over 100 mikoshi (portable shrines) are carried through the narrow streets of Asakusa by hundreds of happi-clad bearers in a riot of chanting and drumming. The climax on Sunday sees the three main shrine mikoshi paraded through the district in a spectacle of raw spiritual energy. Street stalls, traditional dance performances, and geisha processions add color throughout the weekend.
- Type
- Festival
- Category
- Matsuri
- Season
- Spring
- Month
- Mid-May
- Region
- Kanto
- Prefecture
- Tokyo
- City
- Asakusa, Tokyo
Highlights
- ◆Over 100 neighborhood mikoshi carried through Asakusa streets
- ◆Three sacred main mikoshi of Asakusa Shrine paraded on Sunday
- ◆Traditional geisha and kagura dance performances
- ◆Massive street-food stalls lining Nakamise and surrounding alleys
- ◆Free public event with over 1.5 million attendees across three days