One Hundred Famous Views of Edo No.55Tsukuda Island and Sumiyoshi Shrine Festival

In consideration of the valuable cooperation given to lyeyasu Tokugawa to build his shogunate, 36 fishermen from Tsukuda village in Settsu Province (now Osaka) were permitted to move to Edo city and live on a small island lying at the mouth of the Sumida River.
The villagers who started a new fishing life on the remote island gave it the same name as their home village. They also built Sumiyoshi shrine, which enshrined the same god as the one at the Sumiyoshi shrine in Tsukuda village. The god was not only a guardian deity for fishermen but was also believed to protect seafarers from danger.
Hiroshige has sketched a scene of the shrine festival. The chief characteristic of the festival was that it was exclusively conducted and participated in by the fishermen in the village. Several “Onobori” were put up in front of the shrine. These tall banners, about 20 metres high, are a holy symbol of the deity and also show that a festival is in progress. The banner shown in the centre of this print has writing that indicates the name of the god and the name of the parish which is conducting the festival.
As usual, the central feature of the festival was the sacred portable shrine carried on the shoulders of parishioners wearing loincloths. It was believed that the deity spirit would descend from heaven to the portable shrine only when the festival took place, and it would tour through the parishes riding on the shrine. The parishioners of this island were brave enough to carry it into the sea and afterward went right around the island. The print shows a group of parishioners returning from the sea carrying the portable shrine. All fishing sailboats are moored with their sails lowered. The land dimly seen on the sea horizon is Boso Peninsula which embraces Edo Bay.