Kanda Matsuri

Kanda Matsuri
Kanda Matsuri
	Kanda Matsuri, 2009.
Observed by	Tokyo
Type	Religious
Date	Saturday or Sunday nearest 15 May
Related to	Fukagawa Matsuri, Sannō Matsuri

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Kanda Matsuri (神田かんだ祭さい) or the Kanda Festival, is one of the three great Shinto festivals of Tokyo, along with the Fukagawa Matsuri and Sannō Matsuri. The festival started in the early 17th century as a celebration of Tokugawa Ieyasu's decisive victory at the battle of Sekigahara and was continued as a display of the prosperity of the Tokugawa shogunate during the Edo period.^[1] Additionally, the current form of the festival is also held in honor of the kami of Kanda Myōjin (Kanda Shrine).^[2]

The festival is held on the Saturday and Sunday closest to May 15, but since it alternates with the Sannō Matsuri, it is only held in odd-numbered years. On these years, the festival takes place at Kanda Shrine as well as in surrounding central Tokyo districts. Its prominent parades involve over 200 mikoshi, in addition to musicians, dancers, and floats.^[3]