I n Tokyo, participants braved frigid conditions at the Kanda Myojin Shrine for a traditional Japanese ritual aimed at purifying the soul and ushering in good health for the new year. Clad in ...

Kanda Myojin Shrine, with its vibrant red structures and lively festivals, is a cultural treasure that dates back over a thousand years. During the Meiji Restoration, it became a symbol of Tokyo's ...

Mostly half-naked men with just white loincloth around their hips and several women in white robes joined the annual cold endurance ritual at the Kanda Myojin, a Shinto shrine in downtown Tokyo.

If anything, they did it on a grander scale.

In Mikoshi-Miyairi, a highlight of the festival, mikoshi from different neighborhoods were carried into the Kanda Myojin shrine in Chiyoda Ward and spectators chanted as mikoshi went along.