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This festival, whose official name is Fukagawa Hachiman
Matsuri (litteraly the festival of the Hachiman god in Fukagawa -
Hachiman is the deity of warriors) is also known as the Fukagawa Mizukake Matsuri (water sprinkling
festival) because Fukagawa folks along the route sprinkle water over the portable shrine and
its bearers. This festival is believed to date back to 1642 was considered one of the
three major festivals in Edo, along with the Sannô Matsuri in Akasaka and the Myôjin Matsuri in Kanda.
The festival once attracted so many spectators that a bridge collapsed
under their weight during the Edo period and crossing bridges with a portable shrine was banned until the
middle of the Meiji period (1868-1912). |
