Sanja festival is a festival held at Asakusa Shrine in May. Asakusa Shrine is dedicated to the brothers Hamanari, Takenari, Hinomae and Matsuchi Hajino, who were involved in the founding of Senso-ji Temple in Tokyo.
A Kannon (Godess of Mercy) statue was caught in the net of the Hinomae brothers who were fishing in the lower reached of the Sumida River in 638. The brothers brought back the statue home and later built Senso-ji Temple with Matsuchi Hajino to worship it. Some time after the founding of Senso-ji Temple, Asakusa Shrine was built next to Senso-ji Temple. The origin of the Sanja festival is the ‘Boat Festival’, which began in 1312. The festival continued until the Edo period, it was changed to the annual festival of Asakusa in 1872, in the Meiji era.
During Sanja festival, nearly 70 Ujiko (Shrine parishioners) parade through the town carrying large Mikoshi (portable shrines). After the Corona pandemic, the festival was held for the first time in four years. There were many tourists at the festival this year, which added to the fun atmosphere.