2009/10/02
Hikawa Shrine – Omiya, Saitama
“Omiya,” a town prospered as a post station of Nakasendo
“Hikawa Shrine” with 2000-year history
To get to the Shrine there is a 2km approach of zelkovas trees. The first gate (ichi-no-torii) is close to JR Saitama Shin-toshin station, the second gate (ni-no-torii) is close to JR Omiya station, you can get to the third gate (san-no-torii) from there. The famous John Lennon Museum is also in this area.
“Hikawa Shrine” is known as Musashi Ici-no-miya. Musashi is the pre-edo period name of the district, which includes presently Saitama, Tokyo and the east part of Kanagawa. Ici-no-miya means the most prestigious shrine. Omiya “Hikawa Shrine” has over a 2000 year history. With a top 10 ranking as one of the most popular shrines for hatumode (New Year’s visit to a shrine) in Japan. It attracted around 2.03 million worshippers in the first three days of 2008. The shrine holds various cultural events throughout the year. For example on the first day of every month Tsukinami-sai, and on the 15th of every month Ken-ei-sai . During Hanashizume-sai in April, little girls perform the traditional Hanashizume dance. Then in August during Reitai –sai dances from the music department of the Imperial Household Agency are dedicated to the god of the shrine. The most popular cultural event is Taito-sai. It is commonly known as Tohkaichi, since it is held on December 10th. The festival continues for 12 days, it starts from Zen-sai (Pre festival) on November 30th to Hon-sai (Main festival) on December 10th and Ko-sai (Post Festival) on the following day. During this period, Shinto priests from the shrine purify their bodies and serve God without going out of the shrine grounds. At Honsai, 100 different dishes made from various foods from the sea, river, and the land are dedicated to the god of the shrine for the celebration.
In the meantime 1300 street stalls stand side by side on the approach which is full of people like Tori-no-ichi (Cock Fair). There used to be many street stalls that offered foods and equipment for New Year’s Day. But the trend has changed as time goes by, and now the majority of stalls serve food and drinks. Yet, there are so many visitors looking for bamboo rakes and other lucky charms, it has become a signature year-end event for Omiya. Traditional plays put on outdoors with light supplied by bonfires (Takigi-noh) and ancient Japanese court music performances (Gagaku) are also held during this period.
Seasonal trees and flowers, such as the cherry blossom in spring and red leaves in autumn, create a beautiful environment. But there are also many people who just enjoy walking from the shrine to nearby Omiya Park.
- Address: 1-407 Takahana, Omiya-ku, Saitama city, Saitame prefecture
- Tel.:048-641-0137（Main switchboard of Shrine office）
- Access: 20 min. walk from JR “Omiya station east exit”or 15 min. walk from Tobu Noda line “Omiya Koen Station.”
