Reiwa 8 Tori-no-Ichi Festival at Asakusa Otori Shrine (Ichi-no-Tori & Ni-no-Tori)

The Tori-no-Ichi festival of Reiwa 8 will be held at Otori Shrine in Asakusa. Ichi-no-Tori (the first Tori day) is on November 7, and Ni-no-Tori (the second Tori day) is on November 19. This year, the festival runs through Ni-no-Tori only.

Tori-no-Ichi begins at midnight on the Day of the Rooster (Tori-no-hi) in November, when the "Ichiban Daiko" (first drum) is sounded, and the festival is held all day. Hours are 0:00–24:00. It is said that in years with two Days of the Rooster in November, the festival runs through Ni-no-Tori, and in years with three, it runs through San-no-Tori.

What is Tori-no-Ichi?

It used to be called "Tori-no-Machi (Tori no Matsuri)," but the character for "ichi" (market) gradually came to be used. It is a festival to seek the will of the deity enshrined at Otori Shrine, give thanks for the deity's blessings, and pray for good fortune, blessings, prosperous industry, protection from misfortune, and business prosperity in the coming year.

History

The "Toto Saijiki" records that during the Horeki and Meiwa eras (1750–60), the Tori festival was already considerably lively, and that it had been held as an annual event even before then. Kikaku's haiku "Haru wo matsu koto no hajime ya Tori no ichi" (Awaiting spring—the beginning of it all, the Tori-no-Ichi) also expresses the excited feeling of New Year drawing near. The many ukiyo-e prints that remain show that it has long been a beloved annual event.