Akiru Shrine located in Itsukaichi, Akiruno City, Tokyo is a historic shrine, which was atop the list of eight shrines in Tama district of Musashi province in Jinmyocho (the list of deities) of Engishiki (the codes and procedures on national rites and prayers) written in the Heian period (794-1192). It is said that Minamoto no Yoritomo, Ashikaga Takauji and Tokugawa Ieyasu paid a visit to this shrine.

Akiru Festival held from September 28 to 30 every year has a long history dating back to the Edo period (1603-1868). The huge and gorgeous mikoshi (portable shrine) with 1.5 m square body is carried along the Itsukaichi Kaido Road in a gallant manner. The lion dance is traditionally performed to purify the way of the mikoshi before it is carried out of the shrine.

Tama woven fabric is a practical textile woven in Hachioji or Akiruno in the Tokyo area.

Tama woven fabric is the general term for five fabrics: tama-yuijo, tsumugiori, futsuori, kawari-tsuduri and sujiriori. Tama woven fabric is the epitome of the history of fabric making in Hachioji.

Already by the late Heian period, silk fabrics such as Takiyama or Yokoyama-tsumugi were being made in Hachioji. In the late Muromachi period, the craftsman Hokujo came to Tama and encouraged people to produce fabrics; this made Tama a major textile-production area.  After the Meiji period, Westernization led to a rapid development in cloth-weaving and a new technique was invented, which became the basis of Tama woven fabric.

Traditionally, Tama woven fabric was both tasteful and practical, but today, new sophisticated designs, feelings and skills mean that unique and excellent works are being produced by traditional handiwork. In 1980, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry designated Tama woven fabric as a Traditional Handicraft.