Famous for the intensity of the “Sanjya” festival. What is “Sanjya”, and who are the three people related to this festival.
Let us look at the symbol mark on the offering box. On it are three ropes. As you have come to understand the story of Asakusa you may know what this means.
The three ropes signify the two fisherman and the village chief who were involved in the discovery of the Buddha statue. At Asakusa shrine these three are also enshrined as gods.
Every year over 1.5 million people visit to see the Sanjya Festival. The three proper nouns of the temple are Ichinomiya, Ninomiya, and Sannomiya. Each of the three characters in the story are carried on board these shrines.
In the Edo period the Sanjya Festival was held on March 18th, which is the day the Buddha statue was discovered in the river.
Due to the government ordinance to distinguish Buddhism and Shintoism, the day of the festival day was changed to May 18th. Despite the change, both Asakusa temple and shrine have remained as one. The everyday citizens of Asakusa wish to carry on the enshrinement of this important place, which was inherited from the three men who discovered the Buddha statue.
