Early Summer Festival in Tokyo’s Asakusa Shrine Ends on High Note; Mikoshi Portable Shrines Paraded Through Streets

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:34 JST, May 20, 2024

In high spirits, festivalgoers carry a mikoshi portable shrine out of Asakusa Shrine in Taito Ward, Tokyo, on Sunday, the final day of the renowned Sanja Matsuri early summer festival. Carrying out the shrine is an important phase of the festival known as “miyadashi,” with three portable shrines carried through the town by worshippers and others clad in hanten coats. They repeatedly called out, “Oisa” and “Soiya” as they paraded through the streets, feeling the weight of the mikoshi on their shoulders.