Torigoe Matsuri, centered on the 1,350-year-old Torigoe Shrine in Taitō Ward, is famed for its Ōmikoshi — reputedly the largest and heaviest portable shrine in Tokyo, tipping the scales at over four tonnes. The festival runs over a weekend in early June, with the main night parade (yomiya) on Saturday evening, when the enormous gilded mikoshi is carried by hundreds of bearers under lantern light through the dense network of old Shitamachi (low city) streets. The procession is accompanied by deafening shouts of 'wasshoi' and the beating of taiko drums, creating an atmosphere of almost overwhelming communal intensity.
- Type
- Festival
- Category
- Matsuri
- Season
- Summer
- Month
- Early June
- Region
- Kanto
- Prefecture
- Tokyo
- City
- Taitō, Tokyo
Highlights
- ◆Tokyo's largest and heaviest mikoshi at over four tonnes
- ◆Dramatic Saturday-evening yomiya night parade by lantern light
- ◆Deep roots in Shitamachi artisan and merchant neighborhood culture
- ◆Hundreds of bearers required to carry the massive gilded shrine
- ◆Lively street stalls and neighborhood festivities throughout the weekend