Sumiyoshi Festival at Tsukuda Island

Tsukudajima is a manmade island at the mouth of the Sumida River in Edo (now Tokyo). Fishermen who settled there from western Japan constructed a shrine dedicated to the god of the sea. This print depicts the highlight of a festival held at the shrine every summer. The white banner in the center is emblazoned with the name of the god, Sumiyoshi Daimyōjin. Behind the banner, a procession of men carry a mikoshi, a portable shrine for transporting the spirit of the god. Onlookers would be wearing fancy festival garments, such as robes decorated with fishes; yet, these men wear little, if anything, at all. Straining and sweating to carry the heavy shrine, they may also be required to bare their bodies in a show of purity.