Kanda Myojin
By Peter Sidell
The Kanda Festival is one of Tokyo’s 3 greatest festivals, and it’s also counted as one of Japan’s big 3 festivals along with the Gion Festival in Kyoto and the Tenjin Festival in Osaka.
Kanda Festival, a grand festival of Kanda Myojin Shrine, has been celebrated in magnificent style since the Edo Era. Four-hundred years ago, Tokugawa Ieyasu prayed to this shrine's diety for good fortune on the battlefield. And eventually, he accomplished the unification of the whole country on the exact day of the diety’s grand festival. After that, Ieyasu rejoiced over his victory and held the Kanda Festival to celebrate.
More than 200 portable shrines and floats parade through the center of Tokyo and about 3 million people visit to see it. The powerful and energetic Kanda Festival is held in mid May biennially.
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Find out more about Kanda Myojin Shrine.
