Tori No Ichi Fair

Picture shrines thronging with buzzing crowds, the air punctuated by rhythmic clapping and the shouts of vendors and patrons. It's an atmosphere at once modern and utterly traditional. Ornate charms, called Kumade, fly off the shelves of the open- air market stalls, whisked away by customers eager to ensure good health, good fortune and good business next year. These are the famous Tori-no-ichi markets, an event dating back nearly 4 centuries, the Edo Era.

The first of many festivals held to welcome the coming New Year, Tori-no-ichi is held in November on the Day of the Rooster. Organized at shrines all over Tokyo, patrons come to purchase the Kumade or "rakes". The idea was to "rake in" good fortune. The rakes became increasingly more complex and decorative, the idea being the more ornamented the Kumade the more luck it would bring to the bearer- hence the use of masks and gold coins called " koban".

Tori-no-ichi is one of the most unique events on the festival calendar and its most famous locations can be found here, in Tokyo. Visit this amazing event!

• Further Information :
  http://www.torinoichi.jp/english/index.htm
  http://tcvb.or.jp/en/event/calendar.html