Sanja Matsuri is an old Japanese holiday, the history of which dates back to the millennium before last. It is equally popular among the Japanese themselves and among the guests of this country full of mysteries.
Sanja Matsuri is one of the three largest and most popular festivals in Japan. The name of this holiday can be translated from Japanese as "temple procession". Sanja Matsuri is held annually in the third week of May, the holiday lasts for three days: it starts on Friday and ends only on Sunday.
The Sanja Matsuri Festival is held in the capital of Japan, Tokyo, in Asakusa District. The tradition of holding this holiday originated in one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Japan, called Senso-ji. According to legend, this temple was erected in honor of the statuette of the deity Kannon, which was accidentally caught in the river by the Hinokuma brothers during a fishing trip in May 628. The first Sanja Matsuri festivals took place in the middle of the seventh century.
The main action of the Sanja Matsuri Festival is a grandiose parade through the streets of Tokyo, which attracts more than a million people every year. The characters of the festive procession dress up in a variety of colorful traditional costumes. Among the festival participants there are even representatives of the Yakuza clans, the Japanese mafia, who can be recognized by the numerous tattoos that cover their bodies.
The temple procession begins at dawn on Friday. It is held under the leadership of the minister of the Senso-ji temple. At the forefront of the procession are musicians playing Japanese drums and flutes. The music they play during the procession is written specifically for the Sanja Matsuri. To this accompaniment, the procession sings religious songs and holiday hymns.
Several dozen groups of Tokyo residents from different parts of the city, each with its own symbol and dressed in a special way, follow the musicians and carry mikoshi. These are special shrines in the form of small replicas of Japanese temples, richly decorated and weighing over a hundred kilograms. It is the processions with mikoshi on the shoulders that are the main attribute of the Japanese festival of Sanja Matsuri.
