An interesting ‘shadow festival' of Kanda Matsuri, held in even-numbered years.

Held in mid-June, the Sanno Matsuri (山王祭, Sannō Matsuri) is one of the three most famous festivals of Tokyo, alongside the Kanda Matsuri and Fukagawa Matsuri. A full version of the festival is held only in even-numbered years, alternating with the full version of the Kanda Matsuri which takes place in odd-numbered years. The Sanno Festival extends over a week with a variety of events, but most of them are rather small.

The festival's main attraction, which is held only in even-numbered years, is a parade that winds through central Tokyo over the course of nine hours on one of the festival days. The parade begins and ends at Hie Shrine, the shrine responsible for holding the festival.