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Kanda Myojin Shrine - Tokyo Hotels .com

Beautiful decor of Kanda Myojin Shrine

Three principal deities are enshrined at Kanda (Kanda-Akihabara), which dates back to 730 A.D.: Okuninushi-no-Mikoto and Sukunahikona-no-Mikoto, two deities who are important in early Japanese creation myths, and Taira-no-Masakado, a tenth-century warrior who revolted against the Imperial Court in Kyoto, declared himself emperor, and was promptly beheaded.

Today, however, he is legendary among the Kanda townspeople for his bravery. The shrine is the starting point of the Kanda Festival, which takes place every other year in mid-May. The essential Kanda festival is a procession in which the gods, housed in their mikoshi (portable shrines), are paraded through the streets. The floats that lead the procession today move on wheeled carts, attended by the priests and shrine officials. About 70 mikoshi, on the shoulders of the townspeople, follow behind.

Shrine festivals like the Kanda, some claim, are a subtle form of competitive worship: Piety is a matter of who can shout the loudest, drink the most beer, and have the best time.

URL: http://www.kandamyoujin.or.jp/english/top.html