A quadrennial Tokyo festival returns to a changed Japan

Parishioners guide one of three Edo Period (1603-1867) "mikoshi" (portable shrines) during this year’s "shinkōsai" procession at Tokyo’s Nezu Shrine. Mikoshi are said to hold the spirit of shrine deities, in this case Susanoo-no-Mikoto, a god of of the sea, storms and fields. | NICO PHILLIPS

By Nico Phillips
Contributing writer

Nov 2, 2026

At 9 a.m. on Sept. 27, the chief deity of Nezu Shrine, Susanoo-no-Mikoto, was given a procession worthy of a god.

The Nezu Shrine Annual Grand Festival takes place every year, but the procession — known in Japanese as “shinkōsai” — occurs only once every four years. This year’s seven-hour parade saw residents carry a mikoshi (portable shrine) through the streets of the Bunkyo Ward neighborhood where the shrine is located while locals and visiting tourists lined the route to pay their respects and satisfy their curiosity.

However, the crowds looked much different the last time Susanoo-no-Mikoto, a deity of sea, storms and fields, hit the road.

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