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Lotus Flowers at Shinobazu Pond in 2009
Lotus Flowers at Shinobazu Pond in 2012
White Lotus Flowers at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine 2009
Tsukuda Sumiyoshi Shrine Grand Festival
(Saturday, Aug. 4, 2012)
Special Procession of Mikoshi in Tsukuda in Celebration of the 20th Anniversary
of
Enthroanment of His Majesty Emperor Akihito - 2009
Tsukuda Sumiyoshi Shrine's Octagon Mikoshi - August 7 (Sat), 2010
Tsukuda Sumiyoshi Shrine's Octagon Mikoshi - August 8 (Sun), 2010
FUKAGAWA TOMIOKA HACHIMAN-GU'S TWO GRAND MIKOSHIS
Tomioka Hachiman-gu Shrine has two huge mikoshis. They are Ichinomiya Mikoshi (The First Mikoshi) and Ninomiya Mikoshi (The Second Mikoshi). Ichinomiya
Mikoshi was built in 1991 donated by the late Kiyoshi Sagawa Japan's trucking
business tycoon. It is said it costed him one billion yen. The mikoshi
is largest in Japan weighing 4.5 tons and is decorated with many jewels
and gold such as 7 carat diamond at the bosom of the phoenix, a pair of
4 carat diamonds in eyes and many others. This Ichinomiya mikoshi was carried
only one time when it was built and moved into the shrine. The mikoshi
was built in Gyotoku and put on a ship and brought to Eitaibashi Bridge
area and from there mikoshi carriers transferred to the shrine taking 3,000
mikoshi carriers. There are many reasons the Ichinomiya Mikoshi is not
carried today. It is too big and heavy. A large number of people are needed
to carry the mikoshi and overflowing people disrupt traffics. Due to heaviness,
it is difficult to find strong wooden carrying bars etc. The Ninomiya Mikoshi (The Second Mikoshi) was built in 1997 by the shrine and by the donations of the parishioners and believers. It weighs 2 tons. The Ninomiya Mikoshi also is decorated with jewels. The eyes of the phoenix are inlaid with a pair of 2.5 carat diamonds. The original mikoshi of the shrine was destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923. The two mikoshis of the shrine are housed in a building inside the precincts of the shrine and visitors can see them from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Three pictures below are from left the Ichinomiya mikoshi, center a picture when the Ichinomiya Mikoshi was brought in to the shrine in 1991, and right is the Ninomiya Mikoshi. |
Parade of Ninomiya Mikoshi in Fukagawa Tomioka Hachiman Annual Festsival
in 2015
The Ninomiya mikoshi is carried in the following year of the Hon Matsuri (Grand Festival) which is held once in three years. |
Fukagawa Tomioka Hachiman Annual Festival 2010
- Children's Kabuki (Fri)
Fukagawa Tomioka Hachiman Grand Festsival 2008
The 65th anniversary of the end of World War II at Yasukuni Shrine
"Omen Kaburi" at Kuhonbutsu 2008
- Chigosan Parade
- Rengo Togyo (Combined Mikoshi Parade)
- Children's Mikoshi
Asakusa Samba Carnival 2009
Harajuku Super Yosakoi (Saturday)
Harajuku Super Yosakoi (Sunday)