Founded in 1646 with a spirit brought from Tamino Shrine in Tsukuda, Settsu Province, the home village of the fishermen who built Tsukudajima. Standing at the mouth of the port of Edo, it was revered as a guardian of safety at sea, and today it is the tutelary shrine of Tsukishima, Kachidoki and Harumi as well. The annual festival falls on August 6 and 7; every third year the portable shrine is carried across the water by boat.
1-1-14 Tsukuda, Chuo, Tokyo
Sources: sumiyoshijinja.or.jp city.chuo.lg.jp
This moment in the journey
Morning in the shitamachi
This is Tokyo's shitamachi, the old town on the east side of the Yamanote Line. Small boats sat moored in a basin backed by high-rise apartments. Beyond a stone torii stood the hall of Sumiyoshi Shrine, and the alleys were lined with rusted mailboxes, potted plants and bicycles.
Many corners here escaped the wartime fires, and you can still feel the culture and air of those days. At the end of a narrow alley, a red torii caught the morning sun.
Watch this scene on YouTube0:21
More notes from this journey
Chuo, Tokyo
A shitamachi breakfast: grilled salmon and tofu miso soup
Tsukudani was born in neighboring Tsukuda.
From: A downtown table in a Tokyo row house
Chuo, Tokyo
Omurice
One story has it that omurice was born in the mid-1920s at a Western-style restaurant in Osaka, where the owner wrapped ketchup rice in a thin omelet for a regu…
From: A downtown table in a Tokyo row house
Chuo, Tokyo
Tsukishima and Tsukuda
Tsukuda was built as a fishing village by fishermen from Tsukuda in Settsu Province, brought to Edo by Tokugawa Ieyasu, and is the birthplace of tsukudani.
From: A downtown table in a Tokyo row house
Chuo, Tokyo
Tsukudani
A preserved food of small fish, shellfish or seaweed simmered down in soy sauce and sugar.
From: A downtown table in a Tokyo row house
Chuo, Tokyo
Monjayaki
A shitamachi specialty: a loose batter of flour and water cooked on a griddle with cabbage and other fillings.
From: A downtown table in a Tokyo row house
Chuo, Tokyo
Tenyasu Honten (tsukudani)
Founded in 1837, this is the oldest tsukudani shop still standing in Tsukuda.
From: A downtown table in a Tokyo row house
More notes from Kanto
Kamogawa, Chiba
Namero on rice
Namero is a Chiba specialty handed down along the coast of the Boso Peninsula.
From: Zero minutes to the sea: summer vacation in Kamogawa
Kamogawa, Chiba
Sauce yakisoba
A staple of summer festival stalls.
From: Zero minutes to the sea: summer vacation in Kamogawa
Kamogawa, Chiba
Grilled seafood skewers
The taste of the festival stall, on a small charcoal grill on the veranda.
From: Zero minutes to the sea: summer vacation in Kamogawa
Kamakura, Kanagawa
A little Kamakura drinking set
At the farmers' market near Kamakura Station, growers from around Kamakura sell "Kamakura vegetables," many varieties in small quantities, grown with as little…
From: A hundred-year-old house in the town of the Enoden
Kamakura, Kanagawa
Kenchin-jiru
A soup of root vegetables and tofu, sautéed in oil before simmering.
From: A Kamakura-vegetable breakfast and a walk on Enoshima
Kamakura, Kanagawa
Kamakura morning set with grilled dried fish
Kenchin-jiru made with Kamakura vegetables, with dried fish from the market shop grilled alongside.
From: A Kamakura-vegetable breakfast and a walk on Enoshima