The “zaimoku” in the name Zaimokuza means “lumber,” and the “za” generally means a guild of merchants and artisans who did business under the patronage of the large shrines, and temples in the Kamakura (1185/92-1333) and Muromachi periods (1335-1573).

Zaimokuza was a thriving port. In 1232, the port of Wakaejima, Zaimokuza’s old name, was constructed to cope with the expanding commerce. Following expansion, the area became a trading center for lumber, and many lumber merchants settled here. It has been declared a national Historical Landmark in 1924, because it’s the sole surviving example of artificial harbor of the Kamakura Period.

The Gosho Jinja Shrine was built in 1908 to combine 8 shrines in this neighborhood. This shrine is the tutelary deity of Zaimokuza.

There is a lively festival on the second Sunday of each June. The festival is attended by many local people and starts with a service at the Gosho Jinja Shrine and requests for blessings and good trade. The “Mikoshi”, a portable heavy shrine , is carried by the faithful on Zaimokuza’s streets and into the sea at Zaimokuza beach. This takes more than 3 hours. The Mikoshi is thought to be very old, because the repository contains a plaque marked and corresponding to 1642. A small structure next to the repository holds a neatly preserved stone tablet, inscribed with an era name corresponding to 1262 and has been designated a National Important Work of Art.

Many laborers hauled carts loaded with lumber from Wakaejima Port, loudly chanting kiyariondo,a lumber-carriers’ chant on their way to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, the new shrine for Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun of Japan (1147-99). This chant has been handed down as tenno’uta in the Zaimokuza area. And so, it is still loudly chanted by all the carriers in a rythmic movement, swaying from one side to the other side of the street.(See the movie)

It is carried by men as well as women.

Also, children have their own mikoshi (on wheels) and learn it already at a young age.

On top of the shrine is a phoenix bird: the symbol of fire and divinity, immortality and invincibility.

Arriving on the beach.

And into the water!!

Watch the YouTube movie of the carriers coming out of the water and with their chants: Zaimokuza Festival: carrying the Mikoshi