Iriya Asagao festival

Overview

The Iriya Asagao Matsuri (Iriya Morning Glory Festival) is a summer festival centered on a morning glory market, held over three days from July 6 to 8 each year at Iriya Kishimojin (Shingenji Temple) and its surroundings in Taito Ward, Tokyo. Known as a summer tradition of the shitamachi (old downtown) district that has continued since the Edo period, the sight of pots of colorful morning glories lining Kototoi-dori Avenue announces the true arrival of summer in Tokyo.

During the festival, about 30 morning glory vendors and nearly 100 street stalls line the streets, drawing crowds of roughly 100,000 people each year. Many visitors come from early morning, and families and foreign tourists can be seen carefully examining the pots of morning glories. Combining the beauty of the flowers with the lively atmosphere of a shitamachi fair, it is one of Tokyo's most representative annual events of early summer.

History and Origin

Iriya Kishimojin, the center of the Iriya Asagao Matsuri, is formally a Nichiren Buddhist temple called Butsuryuzan Shingenji. It is said to have begun in 1659, when Nichiyu Shonin, the 20th head of the head temple Kochoji in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, came to Edo carrying a small wooden image of Kishimojin that had been enshrined at the head temple, and built Shingenji at its present location.

The temple's principal image of Kishimojin has been affectionately known by the phrase "Osore Iriya no Kishimojin." This name has an origin: a story of divine benefit in which a lady-in-waiting of a daimyo family, suffering from a tumor, was completely cured after 21 days of prayer. The Edo-period kyoka poet Ota Shokusanjin heard of this and, in a play on words, said he was "awed" (osore-itta) by its efficacy, and the pun became popular among the people of Edo. Iriya's Kishimojin is counted, along with those of Nakayama and Zoshigaya, as one of the Three Great Kishimojin of Edo, and has long attracted deep faith as a deity who protects mothers and children.

The origin of the morning glory market itself is said to lie in the display of morning glories cultivated actively in this area in the late Edo period. At that time, gardeners selling morning glories lined the streets of the Iriya area in Shitaya-Sakamoto Village. The morning glories of Iriya became widely known only after entering the Meiji era, when a dozen or so gardeners cultivated morning glories on vast plots of several hundred tsubo each, which established the flower's status as a local specialty.

Afterward, there was a period when morning glory cultivation was temporarily discontinued due to urbanization and other factors, but through the efforts of local people the morning glory market was revived and has been carried on to the present day. The enduring appeal of this festival lies in the fact that, while changing its form from Edo to Meiji and into the modern age, it has continued without interruption as an event that colors the shitamachi summer.

Highlights

Colorful Morning Glories The stars of the venue are the pots of morning glories lined up for several hundred meters along Kototoi-dori Avenue. In addition to blue, purple, crimson, and white, rare varieties in which several colors bloom on a single pot are also on display, and the flowers in full bloom in the morning light are stunningly beautiful. Many people visit from early morning to match the peak of blooming, allowing visitors to fully savor the cool charm of summer.

Conversations with the Morning Glory Vendors At the market, where about 30 morning glory vendors are lined up, the gardeners, who are cultivation professionals, kindly explain the varieties and how to grow them. Buyers can exchange words with the vendors and take their time choosing a pot to their liking. Beyond simply buying and selling flowers, the exchange between people is another charm unique to the old-fashioned morning glory market.

About 100 Street Stalls Along the morning glory market, nearly 100 street stalls line up, creating a lively shitamachi atmosphere. Visitors can enjoy classic stall food and fair games, and the area becomes crowded not only with those seeking flowers but also with people who come to soak up the festive mood. The space, where the flower market and the fair blend into one, produces the exhilaration characteristic of a summer festival.

Worship at Iriya Kishimojin At Shingenji, the main venue of the festival, limited-edition goshuin seals and amulets are sometimes granted during the morning glory market, and many people visit for the purpose of worship. The sight of people joining their hands before the principal image renowned as "Osore Iriya no Kishimojin" and praying for the healthy lives of mother and child shows that this festival is not merely a flower market but an event connected with faith.

Event Information and Access

The Iriya Asagao Matsuri is held over three days from July 6 to 8 each year. It is characterized by the bustle of people seeking flowers from early morning, and many shops sell out of morning glory pots soon after opening on each day. Because the dates are fixed each year, it is cherished as a summer tradition around the time of the Tanabata Star Festival.

The venue is Iriya Kishimojin (Shingenji Temple) in Taito Ward, Tokyo, and the area along Kototoi-dori Avenue that runs in front of it. Access is very convenient: it is about a one-minute walk from Iriya Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line, and about a five-minute walk from Uguisudani Station on the JR Yamanote Line, close to either station. Because the surrounding area becomes very crowded during the festival, use of public transportation is recommended.

Surrounding Information

Iriya is located in the shitamachi area close to Ueno and Asakusa, and visitors can enjoy strolling around the old downtown together with the morning glory festival. Within walking distance lies the Ueno area, where cultural facilities such as Ueno Park, Ueno Zoo, and the Tokyo National Museum are concentrated, and many visitors extend their trip there after visiting the morning glory market.

A little further on foot, one can also reach Asakusa, one of Tokyo's leading tourist destinations, and visit famous sights such as the Kaminarimon gate, Nakamise shopping street, and Sensoji Temple. Long-established restaurants and traditional Japanese confectionery shops unique to the shitamachi are also scattered throughout the area, making it a location where, after savoring the atmosphere of the morning glory market, one can fully enjoy a Tokyo summer along with a walk through streets rich in the atmosphere of old Edo.

Related Information

• Location: Iriya Kishimojin (Shingenji Temple) and the Kototoi-dori Avenue area, Taito Ward, Tokyo
• Period: Three days, July 6-8 each year
• Central temple: Butsuryuzan Shingenji (founded in 1659; one of the Three Great Kishimojin of Edo)
• Scale: About 30 morning glory vendors and nearly 100 street stalls, with about 100,000 visitors each year
• Origin: Display of morning glory cultivation in the late Edo period; became a specialty through gardeners' cultivation in the Meiji era
• Access: About 1 minute on foot from Iriya Station (Tokyo Metro), about 5 minutes from Uguisudani Station (JR)

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