The man holding up Onusa also walked in the procession of portable shrines at Kanda Festival

When I look at a map, I immediately remember, but I quickly forget that Kanda Myojin is close to Akihabara. On this day, too, I had forgotten. It was the Kanda Festival. The Kanda Festival, which had been canceled since the COVID-19 pandemic, was to be held for the first time in four years, so I checked the route to see the mikoshi (portable shrine) and found that it would appear near Akihabara Station. I had expected to see the mikoshi in Ochanomizu, the nearest station to the shrine, but the location seemed surprising to me, and I remembered again that Kanda Myojin is close to Akihabara.

The area where the portable shrines parade during the Kanda Festival is not limited to Akihabara and other areas close to the shrine, but is much larger than I had expected. Looking at the route, the mikoshi can be found as far away as Ningyocho. This festival is one of the three major festivals in Edo. It is interesting to note that the route of the portable shrine also includes Shomonzuka, where the head of Taira no Masakado, the god of Kanda Shrine, is enshrined. Not only do they pass in front of it, but a dedication ceremony is also said to take place. According to legend, if the head mound is disturbed, the head of Taira no Masakado would fall into disrepute and an epidemic would spread, so the consecration ceremony must be carefully performed. The recently renovated Shomonzuka is beautifully maintained, and I would like to believe that if a large number of people gather here to make offerings, Masakado's mind will not be disturbed by the presence of the Imperial Court, which once opposed him, in the immediate vicinity.

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