HOME Back

My Favorites

${v.title}

${v.desc | trunc(25)}

${v.title}

${v.desc | trunc(25)}

View All

Use the

Planning a Trip to Japan?

Share your travel photos with us by hashtagging your images with #visitjapanjp

None

Gyoda's Hanachōzu Flower Displays

HOME > Japan’s Local Treasures > Gyoda's Hanachōzu Flower Displays

A castle town's healing response to the pandemic

Gyoda City

In spring 2020, Gyoda Hachiman Shrine, located 90 minutes north of Tokyo, developed a new tradition of decorating its purifying fountains, known as chōzusya, with colourful seasonal flowers. These artistic arrangements, named ‘hanachōzu’, were a healing response for worshippers during the pandemic and have become a popular sight in shrines around Japan in the wake of Covid-19.

In Gyoda, hanachōzu has spread from the Hachiman Shrine to the nearby Sakitama Shrine, and into the town’s shopping streets and the eaves of private homes. Since 2021, people have begun display floating flowers in fonts and basins throughout the town for Hanachōzu Week, which is held for a limited time from the 1st to the 14th of every month. There is also a monthly ‘light up’ event in which the hanachōzu are illuminated.

Gyoda is a castle town and you can also see Oshi Castle illuminated at night on the first Saturday of every month for the ‘Kibou no Hikari’ event. (Check locally, as times and dates may vary.)