Okunitama Shrine’s 2023 Tori-no-Ichi festival
Okunitama Shrine’s 2023 Tori-no-Ichi festival gave me more than I expected. It wasn’t a one-dimensional event. From the moment I walked in until I left it gave me surprise after surprise. Honestly, I got a few photos I wasn’t expecting. Other than some technical problems, it was a great night.
What is Okunitama's Tori-no-Ichi festival?
The festival originated in the mid-18th century as a thanksgiving ritual for farmers. They would present a chicken to the shrine. While doing that, they would have a market to sell their goods and produce. Eventually, merchants joined in to pray for business success for the following year.
So, in that respect, it’s not unique. Okunitama Shrine’s 2023 Tori-no-Ichi festival was like many others. Yep, it is celebrated all over Japan. I’ve been to another at Hanazono Shrine in Shinjuku. Another famous one is in Asakusa. It happens in November.
Is this festival the same as Hanazono’s?
The two are basically the same. People buy the kumade (good luck rakes) at both shrines. There is one difference. It’s the number of people who attend.
Okunitama Shrine seems to have fewer people. That is good! If you go there to buy a kumade, it’s a more relaxing experience.
Okunitama Shrine’s Tori-no-Ichi Festival surprise
Even entering the shrine was cool. If you don’t know, Okunitama has a long path from the entrance to the main worship hall. Sets of lanterns hung over it every few meters. And on either side were plenty of food stalls. You can’t get more Japanese festival-ish than that!
On the night, I saw:
- Sales of the kumade and the staff performances when passing them to the buyer
- Chrysanthemums
- Noh performance
- Lots of festival food
Chrysanthemums at a Tori-no-Ichi event? Does any other shrine do that? Let me know if there is.
Unfortunately, the flowers had no direct lights on them. They needed high ISO and post-processing. That was a pity.
And there was a Noh performance! That surprised me. I didn’t expect to see that. It was a little difficult to photograph as there wasn’t much light. But, high ISO and post-processing got useable photos.
There was food. Food stalls were everywhere. You could get everything from taiyaki to fairy floss and takoyaki. I had a couple of sausages and they were good. But it was a festival so prices weren’t cheap.
How was the photography at the festival?
Photography was difficult for Okunitama Shrine’s 2023 Tori-no-Ichi festival. This time I shot with the 16-55 mm f/2.8. It’s not quite as good for night photography as the Fujifilm 35 mm f/2.0 which I used at Hanazono in 2022.
The 35 mm faster aperture allows a faster shutter speed or lower ISO. Why didn’t I use it? I don’t know. Let’s put it down as a brain meltdown. The 16-55 mm photos had more grain and blur. It was a regrettable choice.
Conclusion
Okunitama Shrine’s 2023 Tori-no-Ichi festival was fun. It gets the nod from me over the one at Hanazono. As a photographer, crowds can be good, but I also enjoy taking my photos at a leisurely pace.
And having the chrysanthemums and Noh performance was a real bonus. A little more light on them would have been nice though. Still, they were a pleasure to see.
Have you been to Okunitama Shrine? If you have, let me know. I want to hear from you.
Tori-no-Ichi 2023 photo gear
- Camera body: Fujifilm X-T3
- Lens: Fujifilm XF 16-55 mm f/2.8
Rohan Gillett
Rohan has lived in Tokyo for 30+ years. He loves photography and plans to capture the entire city.
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External websites related to this article:
- Okunitama Shrine (official website)