Kitano-jinja, shrine in Tokumaru, Itabashi-ku
Kitano-jinja is a shrine in Itabashi-ku featuring simple wooden structures, clean pathways, and quiet grounds with gardens and stone lanterns. The modest compound sits in a peaceful setting surrounded by trees, with cherry blossoms in spring and changing leaves in autumn creating a natural backdrop for prayer and reflection.
During the Edo period, this shrine was one of the seven major Tenjin shrines and attracted many visitors for festivals and rituals. It has been relocated several times due to urban changes but maintained its role as a place of worship and community gathering.
Kitano-jinja enshrines the Three Medicine Gods and Sugawara no Michizane, a deity associated with learning and scholarship. Visitors observe people making offerings and prayers for health, healing, and academic success, while nearby Inari shrines with their characteristic fox statues reflect the local spiritual landscape.
The shrine sits in a peaceful park away from busy streets, making it easy to explore without noise and distractions. Visitors should move slowly, bow respectfully before the main building, and take time to notice the simple wooden structures that define the traditional setting.
The shrine holds an annual Ta'asobi festival on February 11, an event centuries old that reenacts rice-planting rituals to petition for a good harvest. Recognized as a cultural asset in 2007, the festival features traditional performances, humorous acts, and tossing young girls in the air as a symbol of hope for strong growth.
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