Sensoji Temple in Asakusa

Asakusa is the most famous historical place in Tokyo and the view of the "Gaminari-Mon" Gate, shown in the above picture, is one of the most representative views in Japan. The origin of Asakusa was when HINOKUMA-no-Hamanari and Takenari, who were fishermen brothers, found a Buddhist statue in 628. HAJI-no-Matsuchi built a temple to deify the Buddhist statue. This is the Sensoji Temple in Asakusa.

If you walk from Asakusa Station on the Tobu Line and the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line to the west, you will see the "Kaminari-Mon" Gate on your right. The gate was originally built in 941 and the current gate was rebuilt in 1960 as a donation by MATSUSHITA Konosuke, who was a founder of Panasonic.

Behind the gate, many souvenir shops line in a row along the approach. This area is called "Nakamise". Many sightseers walked along "Nakamise" even at night. Especially, new year season is crowded.

At the end of "Nakamise", you will see the gate of Denpoin Temple on your left. Dempoin Temple was built in 1777 and is the place where monks of Sensoji Temple live. Unfortunately, Denpoji Temple is not open to the public.

Then you will see the Hozo-Mon Gate and the Five-Storied Pagoda. This view is also impressive. Especially at night, the Five-Storied Pagoda was illuminated.

The view of the Hozo-Mon Gate and the Five-Storied Pagoda

The Hozo-Mon Gate was originally built in 942 to ensconce statues of the Deva King. The Hozo-Mon Gate was destroyed by fire a couple of times. The previous Hozo-Mon Gate, built in 1649, was destroyed by fire from air strikes during World-War II in 1945. The current gate was rebuilt in 1964 by the donation of OTANI Kometaro.

On the back side of the gate, a huge straw sandal was displayed.

After passing though the "Hozo-Mon" Gate, you will see the Five-Storied Pagoda on your left. The Pagoda was also originally built in 942. The previous Pagoda was built in 1648 by the third Shogun, TOKUGAWA Iemitsu. It was destroyed in 1945 by air strikes during World-War II and the current Pagoda was rebuilt in 1973.

Finally, you will arrive at the main hall of Sensoji Temple. The main hall was also rebuilt in 1958, after the previous main hall was destroyed during World-War II.

Many people visited the main hall and it was smoky because many people offered burnt incense sticks.

Behind the souvenir shops at "Nakamise", a couple of temple halls and Buddhist statues are located. The below picture shows the Kumenoheinai Hall located near to the Hozo-Mon Gate. The hall was named after KUME-no Heinai (1616 - 1683) . He was a swordsman and killed many people. He made a Buddhist statue and asked people to tramp down the statue for his sins. The statue is said to be located in the hall.

Near Kumenoheinai Hall, the Nisonbutsu statues and the Benten-Do Hall are located. The Nisonbutsu statues were built in 1687. To the east of the Nisonbutsu statues, the Benten-Do Hall is located on a small hill. The Saraswati statue is deified in the hall.

Nisonbutsu Statues

Benten-Do Hall

To the west of the main hall, a couple of other halls are located. The below pictures show Awashima-Do Hall and the Hashimoto-Do Hall. All of these halls were rebuilt after Word-War II.

Awashima-Do Hall

Hashimoto-Do Hall

In this area of Sensoji Temple, there are not so many worship-visitors. You can walk in the temple and will feel the Sensorji Temple as of the Edo Age (1603 - 1868) .

It is often said that Edo was a poor village when TOKUGAWA Ieyasu (1543 - 1616) was forced to move here in 1590, and Edo was rapidly developed. However, the Sensoji Temple proves that Edo has more than one thousand year of the history and people here have let time pass for more than a thousand years.

How to get there
Take the Ginza Line of Tokyo Metro or the Tokyu Line to Asakusa terminal. If you walk to the west from Asakusa Terminal, you will see Kaminari-Mon Gate on your right. It will take you just a few minutes.

Other Historical Sites near by:
Ueno Park
Asakusa Shrine
Denpoin Street in Asakusa
Sumidagawa Ferry