Travel Haiku - Sanno Masturi (Tokyo) Poem by john tiong chunghoo

Tokyo Sanno Masturi
the gods are too going
to see the emperor

Tokyo Sanno Masturi
the gods missing the
Emperor?

Tokyo Sanno Masturi
drumming all the way
to the emperor

Tokyo Sanno Masturi
the gods on their way to see
the Son of Heaven?

Until the end of the Second World War, Japanese believed their Emperor to be descended from the Divine. The loss of the war ended that belief. Held biennially since 1681, Tokyo's Sanno Matsuri features a procession of over 300 people dressed in ancient costumes, some on horseback, others carrying drums. The festival commences at the Hie-jinja Shrine in the morning and finally arrives at the Imperial Palace in the early evening. Watch as Shinto priests wind through the city streets carrying portable shrines called mikoshi.