The Sanja Matsuri (Sanja Festival) is an annual festival in the Asakusa district that takes place over the third full weekend in May. It is held in celebration of the three founders of Sensoji Temple, who are enshrined as Shinto gods (kami) in Asakusa Shrine next door to the temple. The Sanja Matsuri features about one hundred mikoshi, portable shrines, in which Shinto gods (kami) are symbolically placed into and paraded about the streets to bring good fortune to the local businesses and residents. Smaller neighborhood mikoshi can be seen about the streets of Asakusa throughout the festival, while the focus of the festival, the three large mikoshi belonging to Asakusa Shrine, make their appearance on Sunday. For the entirety of the festival, Asakusa is packed with food stalls, festival games and revelers amid a lively atmosphere of Japanese drums and flutes.
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