(Voice actor) Mr.Akira Daniel Duncan

Tsukiji, where the largest wholesale market is located, is a popular place that many overseas tourists visit to witness fish trading. Many people also visit to eat the fresh fish that is available there. However, in 2017, there were heated debates on whether to move Tsukiji market to Toyosu or not. As a result, it was decided that Tsukiji market would relocate to Toyosu, Koto ward, and that Tsukiji would be newly redeveloped. The relocation of the Tsukiji market was decided, which originally it was a Navy-owned site. The close by Nihonbashi fish market had been in charge of fish distribution since the Edo period so it was a district with a history of fish trading. The Great Kanto earthquake in 1923 triggered the opening of Tsukiji market. This earthquake caused heavy damages throughout Tokyo. Nihonbashi fish market was no exception, as it suffered devastating damage. Therefore, people decided to open a market in a new location, and what began on the site owned by the Navy is the modern-day Tsukiji market. Tsukiji means “build a land.” Building a land, literally meaning that a land was made where land did not originally exist, indicates that Tsukiji is a landfill. In 1603, Ieyasu Tokugawa conducted reclamation work all around Edo. But the sea near Tsukiji was turbulent and the dirt carried in would immediately be washed away, so the reclamation proceeded slowly. One such day, something shiny was found on the ocean surface of Tsukiji. When fishermen set out a boat, the body of Oinari (a Japanese god) was floating. The people who picked it up built a shrine and enshrined the floating body. This became Namiyoke shrine. Perhaps by the grace of the god, the reclamation work of Tsukiji went smoothly after that. And in 1659, the work was completed. People thought that the reason the reclamation work of Tsukiji safely concluded was thanks to god and started calling it “Namiyoke shrine,” the shrine with the god who prevented the ocean waves. The locals and fisherman believed in it as a god who expels evil and protects the safety of passage. Even now, the workers of Tsukiji market have faith in Namiyoke shrine as the god who created Tsukiji. This Namiyoke shrine has a unique mound unlike any other shrines. It is proof that the people who work in Tsukiji embrace Namiyoke shrine, but what sort of mound is dedicated there?