Tori-no-Ichi at Asakusa, a festival in Ohtori shrine, where Japanese merchants buy decorative rakes

Tori-no-Ichi is a festival held in Ohtori shrine in Asakakusa twice or three times in November every year. Japanese merchants buy decorative rakes to pray for luck, happiness, and especially business success next year.

I went Ohtori shrine and bought a rake for my next year’s happiness, too. Ohtori shrine was so crowded by people who buy rakes and pray.

What is Tori-no-ichi?

What is Tori-no-ichi?

Tori-no-ichi is a festival held in many shrines in Japan and especially Ohtori shrine in Asakusa and Hanazono shrine in Shinjuku are famous in Tokyo.

12 horary signs (animals including a cock and a dragon) are allocated to each day in Japanese old calendar.

Tori-no-Ichi is held on dates of a cock. (Tori means a cock)
Therefore, there is a year when we have 2 days of Tori-no-Ichi while we have 3 days of it.

We had three days of a cock in November 2018.

A market takes place on those days in the shrines.

▼Looking at Otori shrine from the other side of a street. You can see a lot of people are cueing in the left side.

What do they sell at Tori-no-Ichi?

What do they sell in the market called Tori-no-Ichi? That is decorative rakes.

They are not for sweeping dry leaves in yards but for obtaining luck, happiness and business success. They are not real rakes but decorative ones.

Most of all Japanese who come to Tori-no-Ichi are not employees or civil servants, but individuals who are running own business.

As for me, I had never been there while I was working as an employee before.

The decorative rakes are for obtaining especially business success.

▼The gate from inside of the shrine. It shows “Otori sama (casual name of Otori shrine) will rake happiness in!”

▼A lot of shops are in both line in the shrine.

Three rules of how to buy decorative rakes in Tori-no-Ichi

How to buy decorative rakes in Tori-no-Ichi is different from usual shopping in Tokyo. Let me tell you three rules for that.

Replace a rake every year. Start a smallest rake for the first time.

First, the rule 1.

You should replace a rake every year. Therefore, you should come to Tori-no-Ichi with an old rake in Nov. every year and buy a new rake. The shrine places a box for old rakes and they will fire them in a rite with praying.

▼The tent shows the place for leaving previous year’s rakes. There is a box for old rakes.

If it is first time for you to buy a rake, you should start buying the smallest one. Then, if your business is successful and become bigger, you can buy bigger one next year. The rake you buy will become bigger by years depending on your business growth.

▼There are plenty of various rakes hanging in the shops. Stunning!

▼The rake in the center of the picture imitates rice bags which implies fertility.

▼A lot of shops are in both lines

Some business owners buy same sized rakes as previous years’ ones on purpose after their business increases by leaps and bounds. They think they should be humble. Don’t be greedy!

▼As I went there for the first time, I bought the smallest one. Its price was 2,000JPY.

Pay additional money to the price which a shop staff offers.

Secondly, the rule 2.

You should pay additional money to the amount which a shop staff offers. The additional money is a kind of tip for auspiciousness which is called “Go-shugi”. Don’t be stingy.

For example, suppose, you are going to buy a big rake. You are pointing one and say,

You: How much is this? Would you please offer some discount?
Shop staff: Well, this price is 10,000 JPY, but we will offer 9,000JPY.
You: I see. Then, I will add 1,000JPY for “Go-shugi (a tip for auspiciousness)” to that!

Then, you should pay 10,000JPY instead of 9,000JPY.

For 2nd example, suppose, you are going to buy a small rake. You are pointing one and say,

You: How much is this?
Shop staff: This price is 2,000JPY.
You: OK. I will pay 3,000 including “Go-shugi (a tip for auspiciousness)!

After you buy a rake, shop staffs and other customers will clap and say, “Business success! “loudly several times with praying good commerce next year.

When I bought the smallest rake with 2,000JPY, they kindly did that as well. I felt blushing a little.

▼I chose Fukuda-ya, which is the name of the shop where I bought the rake. It is said that you should buy a rake in the same shop every year.

▼After buying a rake, I prayed.

Rake a lot of luck in until you go out of the shrine.

Thirdly, the rule 3.

Don’t put your new rake into your bag right after you buy it. The grounds of the shrine is full of happiness and good luck. While you are walking inside of the shrine you should raise your rake and “rake” happiness and good luck in your rake as much as possible.

▼Raise your rake with walking inside of the shrine

▼After you go out of the shrine, you can put your rake in your bag.

Decorate the rake in the entrance.

You should decorate the rake in the entrance. Why entrance? Because the rake will gather happiness and good luck which come from the entrance for a year!

▼I hung my small rake in the entrance. I hope it will “rake” a lot of happiness and good luck for a year!

▼The rake which I bought

▼The other side of the rake.

Access

The rough route to Ohtori-shrine from Iriya station of Hibiya line. I would recommend you to follow google maps to get there.

You can use Asakusa station or Minowa station as well.

▼Iriya station

▼”#4 Exit for Ohtori-shrine” shows on the wall of the platform

▼They put a poster for Tori-no-Ichi. There were 3 dates , Nov. 1, Nov. 13, and Nov. 25 for it in 2018. It was so crowded there on Nov. 25 which fell on Sunday.

▼Go to the exit #4 with following signs

▼Red signs are put to telephone poles in the street to Ohtori-shrine.

▼Walk along the street shown in the picture.

▼Pass Iriya 1 traffic signal

▼Pass Iriya 2 traffic signal and turn several times…

▼Finally find Otori-Shrine traffic signal in a big street

▼Find the gate of Otori-shrine

▼You can see a lot of people are cueing in the left side of the picture.

▼The gate of the shrine looking across the street.

▼I cued in the right side. A lot of people were cueing though it was week day.

▼Finally, You arrive at the entrance! Please enjoy!

Address of Ohtori-shrine
3-18-7, Senzoku, Taito-ku, Tokyo