Yesterday was the evening ceremony, and today is the main ceremony, spanning two days, the grand festival known as the ‘Tenjin Festival’ is being held, adding vibrant colors to Osaka’s summer. Alongside Kyoto’s Gion Festival and Tokyo’s Kanda Festival, Osaka’s Tenjin Festival is counted among Japan’s three major festivals. Last year, some events were cut down, including the dedicatory fireworks, but this year, after four years, it has made a full-fledged comeback and is celebrating with great enthusiasm. Particularly on the night of the 25th during the main ceremony, the ‘Funatogyo’ (boat procession) takes place, with numerous boats traversing the Okawa River (formerly Yodo River), accompanied by dedicated fireworks. The Tenjin Festival is also known as the ‘Festival of Fire and Water,’ with its bonfires, lantern lights, and fireworks reflecting upon the Okawa River. Various other colorful traditional ceremonies are also performed, bringing a surge of excitement to the summer in Naniwa (Osaka). Located in Osaka’s Kita Ward, the ‘Osaka Tenmangu Shrine’ enshrines Sugawara no Michizane, revered as the god of learning, as the Tenjin deity, and is affectionately referred to as ‘Tenjin-san of Tenma’ in Osaka.

昨日は宵宮、今日は本宮と２日間にわたり、大阪の夏を彩る大祭「天神祭」が開催されます。大阪の天神祭は京都の祇園祭、東京の神田祭と合わせて日本三大祭りに数えらています。昨年は奉納花火など一部行事をカットして開催されましたが、今年は４年振りの完全復活で大いに盛り上がっています。特に、25日の本宮の夜は、大川（旧淀川）に多くの船が行き交う船渡御（ふなとぎょ）が行われ、それに合わせて奉納花火があがります。天神祭は大川に映る篝火や提灯灯り、花火など火と水の祭典とも呼ばれています。他にも多彩な伝統神事が執り行われ、浪速の夏が一気に盛り上がります。大阪府大阪市北区にある「大阪天満宮」は、学問の神様と崇められている菅原道真公を天神様として祀っていますが、大阪では“天満の天神さん”と親しまれています。