Jigen-e Festival Senso-ji Asakusa Tokyo

This is an annual festival with a dragon dance know as Kinryu-no-mai. The festival celebrates the discovery of the Buddha statue enshrined in the temple and the subsequent founding of Senso-ji. With such a long history it is no surprise that Senso-ji is considered Tokyo's oldest temple.

The story goes that two fishermen brothers found a statue of Shokanzeon Bosatsu or Buddha of Mercy while out fishing one day in the lower Sumida River in Tokyo. They try to return it to the river but it kept returning to them so they founded the temple.

On the 18th of March geisha preform music in a cart following the dragon as as it winds its way through the busy lane of souvenir shops and people. The dragon approaches the main shrine, I suppose to pay its respects to the Buddha within before heading off to have a lively game of find the golden ball (aka the dance). The dragon itself is 5 meters tall and weighs 80 kilograms.

I hope you enjoy this video and if you have the chance visit Sensoji on March 18th for an exciting time in Tokyo.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Sensoji
• Senso-ji
• geisha
• dragon
• Jigen-e
• Kinryu-no-mai
• Tokyo
• festival
• masturi

[engbouland]

thanks for sharing