Jūninichi-machi

Overview

Juninichi-machi is a year-end market held every December 12 centered on Tsuki Shrine (Tsuki Jinja) in Kishimachi, Urawa Ward, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture. Crowds gather to buy lucky charms in preparation for the New Year, and the event has long been cherished as an annual tradition that signals the close of the year for the town of Urawa. Roughly six hundred stalls line the route from the shrine precincts through Tsuki Park and along the old Nakasendo road, making it one of the largest year-end fairs in the Saitama City area.

The most distinctive feature of this market is the small bamboo rake known as kakkome, granted at Tsuki Shrine. Named for the wish to rake in good fortune, this charm draws a constant stream of worshippers throughout the day. Rather than being merely a stall market, the event carries a deeper religious dimension because the shrine's charm-granting ritual and the market before its gates have been handed down together as a single unified tradition. With a history said to date back to the Meiji era, the market remains firmly rooted as a seasonal milestone in the lives of local people.

History and Origins

Juninichi-machi traces its origins to the year-end market that developed alongside the winter rites of Tsuki Shrine. A year-end market, or ooseki no ichi, refers to a fair held at the turn of the year for buying and selling New Year goods, a custom long practiced before shrines and temples across Japan. The market at Tsuki Shrine likewise took shape naturally out of the flow of people who came both to worship and to shop, gradually crystallizing into the event known today.

By the Meiji era the market was already flourishing, and the advantage of facing the old Nakasendo, one of the country's major highways, was a great factor in drawing people and goods together. Because Urawa prospered as a post town on the Nakasendo and served as a hub of traffic, travelers passing along the road sought their year-end charms here, and the market steadily grew in scale. The overlap of two streams of people, the highway traffic and the crowds before the shrine gates, lay behind the growth of Juninichi-machi into a large year-end fair.

The fact that the market is fixed on December 12 is itself the origin of its name, which literally means the twelfth-day market. Falling in the middle of the twelfth month, at the very height of preparations for the New Year, it became deeply woven into the lives of local people as a precious chance to gather rakes, household altars, daruma dolls, and other New Year goods all at once. By opening on the same date every year without moving it, the market secured a firm place as an annual tradition within the rhythm of daily life.

The unusual character of Tsuki Shrine itself lends the market a distinctive color. Tsuki Shrine is known for having no torii gate, and in place of the usual guardian dogs it is watched over by statues of rabbits, a rarity among shrines nationwide. These rabbits are said to derive from the reading of the shrine's name, tsuki, which also means moon, and the link between moon and rabbit lies at the heart of its faith. Set against such an individual shrine, Juninichi-machi has been passed down to the present day as an event clothed in the local faith and lore that make it more than a simple year-end market.

Highlights

Granting of the Kakkome Bamboo Rake The greatest attraction of Juninichi-machi is the kakkome granted at the charm office of Tsuki Shrine. This small bamboo rake embodies the wish to rake in fortune and luck, and is received in exchange for an offering. The granting continues on the day from roughly morning until late at night, as people come one after another to pray for a year of good fortune. The custom of receiving this charm anew each year to call in fresh blessings forms the religious core of the event.

Some Six Hundred Stalls in a Long Line From the shrine precincts through Tsuki Park and along the old Nakasendo, roughly six hundred stalls stand side by side. Ranging from New Year charms such as rakes, altars, daruma dolls, and beckoning cats to food stalls of every kind, they let visitors savor the excitement of the year's end simply by walking among them. Few markets in the Saitama City area gather such a concentration of stalls, and the sheer scale itself is a major highlight.

Place to Return Old Rakes and Talismans Beyond seeking new charms, the market also provides a place to return old rakes and talismans received the previous year. A returning point is set up on the south side of the front approach to the shrine, where visitors let go of the charms that watched over them for a year with gratitude, completing a cycle of welcoming new fortune. The integration of granting and returning shows the religious completeness of this tradition.

A Year-End Event Held Rain or Shine Juninichi-machi is known as an event that goes ahead even in the rain. By strictly keeping to the date of December 12 and never failing to open each year, it has become a fixed and reliable point in the calendar for local people. The reassurance that it will always take place regardless of the weather underpins its strength as a tradition passed down across generations.

The Shrine of the Rabbit Tsuki Shrine, the heart of the market, is a nationally rare shrine with no torii gate, where statues of rabbits greet worshippers. Searching out the rabbit motifs placed throughout the precincts as one prays is a pleasure unique to this event. The distinctive atmosphere of the shrine adds brightness and a sense of story to the year-end market.

Event Information and Access

• Location: Tsuki Shrine and surroundings, Kishimachi, Urawa Ward, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture
• Venues: Tsuki Shrine precincts, Tsuki Park, along the old Nakasendo
• Date: December 12 every year (held rain or shine)
• Granting hours: Kakkome is granted at the charm office from morning until late at night on the day (roughly 10:00 to 22:00)
• Stalls: The shrine area operates from daytime into the night, and the road section from early afternoon into the evening
• Access: About a 10-minute walk from the West Exit of JR Urawa Station

Nearby Attractions

The area around Tsuki Shrine is dotted with spots where one can feel the history and culture of the town of Urawa. Tsuki Park, adjacent to the shrine, is a place of rest for local residents, and on the day of Juninichi-machi some of the stalls extend as far as here, making it one of the stages of the festivities. Even the normally quiet park is wrapped in the vigor of the year's end on this single day.

Urawa is a place that grew as a post town on the Nakasendo, and along the old Nakasendo remain townscapes and shops that convey the appearance of the highway in former times. Because the stalls of Juninichi-machi also line this old road, one can experience Urawa's history as a post town while walking through the market. Strolling with thoughts of the lives of the people who once passed along the highway is a pleasure in itself.

Urawa is also known nationwide as a town of soccer, and the area around the station is well supplied with restaurants and commercial facilities. After seeking lucky charms at Juninichi-machi, visitors can enjoy food and shopping unique to Urawa in the town center, and the convenient location that lets one savor the year-end hours over a full day is another of its charms.

Related Information

• Month: December (every year on December 12)
• Location: Urawa Ward, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture (Kanto region)
• Venue: Tsuki Shrine
• Type: Year-end market and fair of lucky charms
• Features: A market before the gates of Tsuki Shrine, which has no torii and enshrines rabbits; roughly six hundred stalls; the granting of the kakkome bamboo rake

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