Takeda Jinja 武田神社
I walked up Takeda Dori to see Takeda Jinja for the first time in 22 years, but I was in for a surprise at the top of the street. I was expecting to see a typical, peaceful shrine, but, instead, Takeda Jinja was taking part in the Takeda Shingen Matsuri (信玄公祭り).
Wave after wave of Shingen’s 24 regiments made their appearance at the shrine to receive their 戦勝祈願式, which I suppose would translate into something like “victory in war blessing ceremony.”
Above is a picture of one of Takeda Shingen’s 24 generals (武田二十四将) for the day. I’m not sure which one, but his blessing worked well as he was alive at the end of the day, unlike most of Shingen’s real generals who died in the Battle of Nagashino in 1575.
If Shinto prayers and battle cries aren’t your thing, you could always move away from the main shrine and over to the stage where these Japanese ladies were playing traditional Japanese folk tunes on their kotos (琴).