Fishermen Hold Ritual for Big Hauls, Safety in Sea Off Haneda

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:02 JST, May 12, 2023

Fishermen perform a ritual to ensure large catches and maritime safety at a pole sticking out of the sea on Thursday near Haneda Airport in Tokyo’s Ota Ward. As part of the Suijin festival, which has been held in the ward’s Haneda district since the Edo period (1603-1867), the local fishing cooperative members got onto boats with traditional fisherman’s flags, sailed about two kilometers into the sea and offered a talisman and a bundle of sakaki branches.