Notes
Like many Japanese festivals, Sanja Matsuri is a religious celebration. It is a weekend-long Shinto festival that is dedicated to the kami (spirits) of three men. The three men then devoted their lives to the Buddhist faith after finding a statuette of the Bodhisattva Kannon caught in a fishing net in the Sumida River and consecrated it in a small temple. This temple, now known as the Sensō-ji, currently houses the Kannon statue and is the oldest temple in Tokyo. Celebrated over the course of three days, the festival attracts 1.5 to 2 million locals and tourists every year.