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Asakusa

16 February 2022

Asakusa Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in the Asakusa district of Tokyo, Japan. Also known as Sanja-sama (Shrine of the Three gods), it is one of the most famous Shinto shrines in the city. The shrine honors the three men who founded the Sensō-ji. Asakusa Shrine is part of a larger grouping of sacred buildings in the area. It can be found on the east side of the Sensō-ji down a street marked by a large stone torii. One of the only two buildings in the area to survive World War II, it is designated an Important Cultural Property due to its long history. 

An example of the gongen-zukuri style of architecture, Asakusa Shrine was commissioned by Tokugawa Iemitsu and constructed in 1649 during Japan's Edo period. It was constructed in order to honor the three men who established and constructed the Sensō-ji. The legend states that two brothers, fishermen named Hinokuma Hamanari and Hinokuma Takenari, found a bosatsu Kannon statuette caught in a fishing-net in the Sumida River on May 17, 628.

The third man, a wealthy landlord named Haji no Matsuchi (Haji no Nakatomo), heard about the discovery and approached the brothers to whom he delivered an impassioned sermon about the Buddha. The brothers were very impressed and subsequently converted to the Buddhist religion. The Kannon statue was consecrated in a small temple by the landlord and the brothers who thereafter devoted their lives to preaching the way of Buddhism. This temple is now known as the Sensō-ji. Asakusa Shrine was built in order to worship these men as deities. The shrine and its surrounding area and buildings have also been the site of many Shinto and Buddhist festivals for centuries. The most important and famous of these festivals is Sanja Matsuri, held in late May.

Unlike many other structures in the area, including the Sensō-ji, the shrine (along with the Nitenmon) survived the Tokyo air raids of 1945. Because of this rich history, it was designated an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese Government in 1951.

Asakusa is on the north-east fringe of central Tokyo, at the eastern end of the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line subway, approximately one mile east of the major Ueno railway/subway interchange. It is central to the area colloquially referred to as Shitamachi, which literally means "low city," referring to the low elevation of this old part of Tokyo, on the banks of the Sumida River. As the name suggests, the area has a more traditionally Japanese atmosphere than some other neighborhoods in Tokyo do. 

With so many religious establishments, there are frequent matsuri (Shinto festivals) in Asakusa, as each temple or shrine hosts at least one matsuri a year, if not every season. The largest and most popular is the Sanja Matsuri in May, when roads are closed from dawn until late in the evening. Poet Matsuo Bashō referred to Asakusa's temple in a haiku. 

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The tours are done by professional guides that are experienced in guiding tourists on a practical basis. 

Info

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Tokyo Street 111

1111 Tokyo, Japan

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+1 111 1111 111

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rona@tokyo.japan

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