Day 3
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What's this? Fukagawa Hachiman Festival photos by Philbert Ono. Held in mid-August in Koto Ward, Tokyo, this is the festival's full-scale version held once every three years (1996, 1999, 2002, etc.).

Prayer Ceremony
Aug. 16, 1996

During the prayer ceremony, shrine maidens performed a sacred dance in front of the altar while the priests sat on the left.

Shrine maidens, called miko, are usually daughters of priests or local parishioners. Their main function is to perform these sacred dances and they also do other tasks such as selling shrine trinkets. They are not necessarily virgins, but they usually quit after marriage.

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Last modified: 2002-07-10