Sacred Places, Pilgrimage, and Tourism - Geography of Religion in Japan: Religious Space, Landscape, and Behavior - page 148

Residents of the downtown and Dai opposed each other when the railroad was laid
between Shinshoji and Narita Station in the 1910s. Therefore, before the community-
planning project was begun, Kamicho was already connected to Hanasakicho and
separated from Nakamachi.
The strength of town unity and rivalry with other towns can be clearly seen at the
Gion Festival. That rivalry is represented through the town pride in the fl oats, wag-
ons, and town dolls, which are enshrined in the hayashi . Although the dolls appear
similar, each is different. The Gion Festival is held simultaneously with the Gion-e
of Shinshoji, but their origins are different. Since the Gion-e is not dedicated to
Shinshoji as the Gion Festival is, this suggests a fi erce rivalry.
Ties within each town and the relationships among the different towns already
existed, but they were re-recognized through the community-planning process, which
strengthened the ties within each town. This created different landscapes in the towns
when the commercial space was reorganized. Along one 1 km street, differences in
the position and ideas of Omotesando can be seen through the mixture of the indi-
vidual shops and the town that consolidated them. Completion of the community
planning, however, did not mean the landscapes reached the fi nal form of Omotesando.
Worshipers, tourists, and local customers will continue to visit Shinshoji and Narita
Station, and the commercial space of Monzenmachi connecting Narita Station and
Shinshoji will probably be reorganized again later. In any such reorganization, it will
be important to strengthen the unity not only of the town, but also of the entire
Omotesando area and the situation of the individual owners and towns.

4.1.7 Summary

This section focused on changes in shop business in Omotesando of the Naritasan
Shinshoji-Monzenmachi, and discussed the transformation of the commercial
space at Shinshoji-Monzenmachi resulting from involvement in the landscape
improvement project promoted in Omotesando. This study found the city center of
Narita originated in Monzenmachi, and was centered in Shinshoji-Omotesando.
The transformation of Monzenmachi can be classifi ed into fi ve different periods.
Along with the dissemination of belief resulting from expositions on Naritasan and
Ichikawa Danjuro of Edo kabuki fame at the beginning of the eighteenth century, a
belief in the fudo of Naritasan rapidly penetrated the lives of normal citizens of Edo.
The Monzenmachi formed near Honcho and Nakamachi near Shinshoji in the eigh-
teenth century (Monzenmachi formation period).
Since the 1860s, the number of worshipers to Shinshoji increased when railroads
were laid to enable day trips from Tokyo. Omotesando expanded into Hanasakicho
and Kamicho (located between Narita Station and Shinshoji), and where shops sold
goods to worshipers, and fl ourished as the central shopping street until about 1960
(central shopping street period).
During this period, most worshipers arrived by rail and the number of tourists to
Naritasan and Monzenmachi increased, so that they often occupied the entire area