Tori-no-Ichi Fair Begins at Tokyo Shrine; Traditional Celebration in Asakusa Invites Prosperity for Business Owners

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:14 JST, November 5, 2024

The annual Tori-no-Ichi fair, at which participants pray for brisk business and good fortune, started on Tuesday at the Ohtori Shrine in Asakusa, Tokyo.

This traditional fair is held every November on the days corresponding to the tori, or rooster, on the zodiac calendar. Tuesday was one such day; the other two for this year will be Nov. 17 and 29.

As midnight drumming announced Tuesday, visitors who had flocked to the shrine purchased traditional good-luck souvenirs: kumade bamboo rakes adorned with various charms, such as snakes, which will be the zodiac animal for next year, and maneki neko beckoning cats.

Powerful cries of “hanjo, hanjo, hanjo,” repeating the word for prosperity, rang out across the grounds of the shrine.

“I’ve come here to buy a kumade so that many customers will come to my place,” said Toshiya Mori, 34, who runs a sushi restaurant in Adachi Ward, Tokyo.