Tsukiji Hongan-ji Bon-Odori Matsuri

As we came out of Tsukiji Station it was hard to miss the crowd of people walking towards Tsukiji Hongan-ji, the Buddhist temple right next to Tsukiji Fish Market. Down the street decorated with red hanging lanterns, it didn’t even take a minute from the station to the temple grounds, so there was already plenty going on right after our arrival.

Tsukiji Hongan-ji Bon-Odori Matsuri

Within a circle of shining lanterns set around a central platform, taiko drummers are surrounded by a crowd of dancers and revelers as the Hongan-ji temple looms in the background. Its architect, Chuta Ito applied Indian architectural aspects to the exterior to distinguish it from others, which certainly makes it rather non-traditional as far as Japanese temples go.

Tsukiji Hongan-ji Bon-Odori Matsuri

On the stage, a man was beating a huge Japanese taiko drum along with a group of younger drummers surrounding the tower, and as it got darker older Japanese men and women in yukata started dancing on the tower around the drum. This is the traditional dance of Obon, the holiday for honoring one’s ancestors, and can be found all over Japan in various forms.

Tsukiji Hongan-ji Bon-Odori Matsuri

As with any festival, especially in the city, there’s plenty of food and drink available, and we made sure to get a wide selection so we could try a little bit of everything from kitsune udon (a soup with thick noodles and deep-fried tofu), grilled seafood, okonomiyaki, and kakigori shaved ice.

Tsukiji Hongan-ji Bon-Odori Matsuri

After finishing our small feast on the stairway in front of the temple, we decided to check out the main hall of the temple which is far newer, but also more colorful and ornate than your average temple (verging on ostentatious). Though it’s quite close to the festival itself, the main hall was quiet and cool, and a brief respite from the events outside. Among the items inside is a massive decorated taiko drum which is impressive in itself.

Tsukiji Hongan-ji Bon-Odori Matsuri

Above the crowd, the the lion statue guarding the entrance to the temple has the best view of all.

Tsukiji Hongan-ji Bon-Odori Matsuri

Once we came back down from the temple, the festival was in full swing, with tourists and locals all joined in the dancing, following the more experienced dancer as they slowly circled the tower. This can sound a bit boring, but even if you don’t join in it’s rather fun to follow along and watch. We all jumped into the center to get a better view of the action and found a rather unusual set of of people in the Tsukiji Matsuri Club, all dressed in funny costumes rather than the traditional yukata.

Tsukiji Hongan-ji Bon-Odori Matsuri

From Pikachu to a dancing rice ball, all quickly posed for us during the break between songs before getting right back to dancing.

Tsukiji Hongan-ji Bon-Odori Matsuri

As a friend of mine once said, “When I hear the sound of a matsuri, I know that summer has come.” Even in the center of Tokyo, this combination of old and new traditions carries on year after year.


Posts by Dooho Shin

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Hotel Livemax Higashi-Ginza

2-12-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku Tokyo

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