Hanazono-Jinja Shrine

Located in Shinjuku City, Tokyo, Hanazono-Jinja Shrine is a historic shrine renowned as the guardian deity of Shinjuku today, and has been ever since the opening of Naito Shinjuku in the Edo Period over 320 years ago. Originating from an Inari shrine (god of rice, harvests, business prosperity, and household wellbeing) enshrined from Mt. Yoshino, located in the ancient Yamato Province (modern-day Nara Prefecture), the shrine was relocated to its current site during the Kan’ei era (1624-1644). The shrine was also called Hanazono Inari, in honor of the flower garden at the Owari Tokugawa family’s villa (Hanazono literally means “flower garden”). The shrine is believed to grant blessings for good fortune, business prosperity, matchmaking, and skill in the performing arts. In particular, Hanazono Shrine’s Tori-no-Ichi (festival held in November on a day of the rooster in the Japanese zodiac to pray for good luck and business prosperity) is nationally famous as one of the three prominent Tori-no-Ichi in the Kanto region, alongside Asakusa Ohtori Shrine and Fuchu Ohkunitama-Jinja Shrine. After being destroyed during the war, the current buildings at Hanazono were reconstructed in 1965. The bronze ‘foo dog (Chinese lion)’ statue within the grounds is designated as a Tangible Cultural Property by Shinjuku City.