Video. Tokyo festival turns streets into a giant water fight
Rooted in the year 1642 — a time when the city now called Tokyo still bore the name Edo — the Fukagawa Hachiman Matsuri is one of the capital's oldest
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When Tokyo’s Streets Become a River: The Fukagawa Hachiman Matsuri
Poinews.com – Rooted in the year 1642 — a time when the city now called Tokyo still bore the name Edo — the Fukagawa Hachiman Matsuri is one of the capital’s oldest recurring celebrations. It surfaces only once every three years, making each appearance a rare spectacle for residents and visitors alike.
A Procession of Unusual Scale
On Sunday, 16 August, roughly 25,000 people took part in the main parade, hauling 54 mikoshi (portable shrines) along an eight-kilometre stretch through eastern Tokyo. The sheer number of bearers and spectators turned the route into a dense, moving crowd.
Water as the Festival’s Language
What sets this event apart from other Shinto processions is the all-out water fight. Buckets, garden hoses, and water pistols came out in force as onlookers soaked the mikoshi carriers. Firefighters joined in, aiming powerful streams from their hoses at the shrine-bearers and adding another layer of chaos to the already drenched streets.
A Dark Chapter in the Festival’s Past
The celebration’s long history is not without sorrow. In 1807, the Eitai Bridge gave way beneath the mass of spectators gathered to watch the procession pass. Nearly 1,500 lives were lost in the collapse — a catastrophe that still casts a shadow over the event’s legacy.
Community and Commitment
Participants describe the festival as demanding years of preparation and note that it draws together people from vastly different social backgrounds.
For those who carry the shrines, the physical toll and the months of planning are considered worthwhile precisely because the event dissolves everyday social boundaries for a single, thunderous day.
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