Tomioka Hachiman-gu 富岡八幡宮

A bountiful program

 

When entering the precincts of the TomiokaHachiman-gu Shinto shrine in Tokyo, you are overwhelmed by an essential part of the heritage and memory of the Japanese capital. Every corner, every monument, every event taking place there offers its share of history and delivers many anecdotes.

 

 

Such precious mikoshi

Every year in mid-August, the Fukagawa Hachiman matsuri takes place here, a joyful procession of mikoshi constituting one of Tokyo's three major festivals. Since its creation in 1641, spectators have sprinkled sacred water on mikoshi bearers with the help of buckets or garden hoses!

Every three years a special edition of the festival called hon-matsuri is held during which two gigantic mikoshi walk the streets of the district among the usual hundred. The largest weighs nearly 4.5 tons.

 

fukugawa-hachiman-matsuri

The Fukugawa Hachiman Matsuri

江戸村のとくぞう

 

Rich past

If you want to learn more about the long history of the place and its spectacular festival, we invite you to visit the Tomioka Hachiman-gu Museum . Numerous archival documents, photographs, handicrafts, tools, traditional costumes, prints and paintings document and illustrate the sanctuary from its creation to the present day.

The surveyor and cartographer Ino Tadataka (1745-1818), from whom Jiro Taniguchi drew inspiration for his land surveyor character in his manga Furari, lived near the shrine. The scientist went there before each trip praying for the safety and success of his missions; so much so that in 2001 a very beautiful bronze sculpture was erected at Tomioka Hachiman-gu to celebrate his memory.

 

See also: Jiro Taniguchi

 

statue-ino-tadataka

Statue of Ino Tadataka at Tomioka Hachiman-gu

Wikimedia

Pay homage to the rikishi

Until 1833, the Tomioka Hachiman-gu hosted two sumo tournaments a year because it was in its enclosure that the Kanjin-zumô was created in 1684, the predecessor organization of the Nihon Sumo Kyokai which organizes the current competitions. The shrine is therefore rightly considered the birthplace of sumo.

Over the years, several monuments dedicated to great wrestlers have appeared there. In 1900, the wrestler Jinmaku Kyugoro , recognized as the 12th yokozuna (highest rank of rikishi ) had the Yokozuna rikishi hi erected.

 

Yokozuna_Stone_Tomioka_Hachiman

The yokozuna monument

Morio / Wikimedia


Address, timetable & access

  • Address

  • Phone

    03-3642-1315
  • Timetable

    3 min walk from Monzen-nakacho station on the Tozai line.
  • Price

    Free admission. Entrance fee to the museum: 300 yen.
  • Access

    Open every day. Next major editions of the Fukugawa Hachiman matsuri in 2020 and 2023.
  • Website

    http://www.tomiokahachimangu.or.jp/

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