Sensoji Temple

Senso-ji Temple is the oldest temple in Tokyo.
The temple grounds are lined on both sides by Nakamise Street with its traditional downtown atmosphere, the Kaminarimon and Hozomon gates, the main hall, and the five-story pagoda, making it one of the most popular tourist attractions in Japan.

Nakamise Dori
One of the oldest shopping streets in Japan, Nakamise-dori stretches 250 meters from Kaminarimon Gate to Hozomon Gate, and is lined with long-established Japanese sweets stores and souvenir stores on both sides of the approach.
Visitors can enjoy traditional Japanese sweets such as ningyo-yaki (doll pancakes), croquettes, steamed meat buns, menchikatsu (fried pork cutlets), daikaimono (large sweet potatoes), taiyaki (fish-shaped pancakes), fried buns, ice cream monaka, gelato, and many more.

The oldest temple in Tokyo
Founded in 645, the temple was developed by the monk Shoukai. The main statue of the holy Kannon (Goddess of Mercy) is a secret Buddha image that is never shown to the public.
In 857, Ennin (Jikaku Daishi), a monk from Enryaku-ji Temple, came to the temple and created a statue of Kannon “You-dachi” for people to worship instead of the hidden Buddha.

In 1590, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who entered Edo (now Tokyo), designated Senso-ji Temple as a place of prayer and gave the temple territory of 500 koku (about $500), and Senso-ji Temple, valued by the Tokugawa shoguns, attracted many visitors as a sacred site for the Kannon.

The Senso-ji temple complex was often destroyed by fire before the Middle Ages, and with the help of the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, the five-story pagoda was rebuilt in 1648 and the main hall in 1649.

Since the Edo period (1603-1867), stores were established on both sides of Omotesando Avenue, and the precincts of the temple became a bustling place of entertainment for the common people, leading to the establishment of “Nakamise” as a commercial facility.
In 1945, the main hall (Kannon-do), a former national treasure, and a five-story pagoda were destroyed by fire in an air raid on Tokyo.
The main hall was rebuilt in 1958 and the five-story pagoda in 1973.

Kaminarimon Hozomon
Kaminarimon
The gate at the entrance to the main approach. It is an eight-legged gabled gate with a statue of the wind god on the right side and a statue of the thunder god on the left side, hence the name Kaminaraimon (Thunder God Gate).

The current gate was rebuilt in 1960 with reinforced concrete construction. Konosuke Matsushita, a businessman, donated the gate to Asakusa Kannon in gratitude for the healing of his illness after praying to the deity. There is a large paper lantern inside the gate. The lanterns are folded only during the Sanja Festival (for the passage of the portable shrine) and when typhoons arrive.

Only the head of the Wind God and Thunder God is old; the body was destroyed by fire in 1865 and replaced in 1874. When the gate was rebuilt in 1960, repairs and coloring were added.
The statues of “Golden Dragon and Heavenly Dragon” are enshrined in the rear room of the gate. The golden dragon (goddess) in the west was created by Buddhist sculptor Yasuo Sugawara, and the celestial dragon (male deity) in the east was created by sculptor Denchu Hiragushi, and was dedicated in 1978.

Hozomon Gate
The Hozomon Gate is located past the Kaminarimon gate and past the Nakamise-dori shopping street. The gate is a two-story gate with an irimoya (gabled) roof.

The current gate was rebuilt in 1964 and is a reinforced concrete structure, donated by businessman Yonetaro Otani and his wife. The gate used to be called “Niomon” because of the Kongorikishi (Niou) statues enshrined on either side of the gate, but after its reconstruction in the Showa period, it is called “Hozomon” (Treasury Gate). As the name implies, the upper level of the gate serves as a repository for the cultural asset “Gensho-Banjo-Kyo” (original edition of the Buddhist sutras).

Of the two statues of Kongorikishi, the left (west) A-gata statue is by the Buddhist sculptor Shinkan Nishikido, and the right (east) Un-gata statue is by the woodcarver Hisasaku Muraoka. The model for the A-gyo statue is said to be Rikishi Kitanoko, and the model for the Un-gyo statue is said to be Meibutani. Huge straw sandals, made of 2,500 kg of straw and meant to ward off evil spirits, are hung from the left and right sides of the back of the gate.

New straw strips are dedicated every 10 years. Although longer rice straw is easier to process, recent years have seen a drastic decrease in the use of rice straw in rice cultivation nationwide, and the use of shorter varieties of rice straw has been improved because it is less likely to fall over in the wind and rain, and easier to harvest. In Murayama City, Yamagata Prefecture, an older, taller variety is grown specifically for this purpose.

The roof was renovated in 2007 to improve earthquake resistance and to ensure the safety of visitors, and titanium tiles, which are lightweight and corrosion resistant, were adopted for the first time in Japan. (Kaname tile: TranTixxii titanium material used) The surface alumina blasting process is randomly arranged to reproduce the “speckled” look characteristic of clay tiles. Titanium was also used for the decoration of all the main, corner, and gable-end ridges. Since then, the roof tiles on the temple grounds have been replaced with titanium tiles one after another.

Main Hall Five-story Pagoda
Main Hall
The main hall is also called Kannon-do because it enshrines the principal image of Sho-Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy. The old hall was rebuilt in 1649 and was designated a national treasure (at the time) as a representative example of a large temple hall of the early modern period, but was destroyed by fire in an air raid on Tokyo in 1945. The current hall was rebuilt in 1958 and is a reinforced concrete structure. In order to raise funds for the reconstruction, the Hyogo-ike site (2,400 tsubo) was sold to Koto Rakutenchi and other entities.

In the outer sanctuary, there are two ceiling paintings, “Dragon” by Kawabata Ryuko and “Scattering Flowers of Heaven” by Domoto Impression. In the center of the inner sanctuary is an eight-storied palace (kuden, synonymous with “kitchen”) in which the principal image of the Holy Kannon (the absolute Buddha) is enshrined. The upper hall houses the kitchen in which the principal image of the hidden Buddha is enshrined, and the lower hall houses the main image of the Kannon (by Ennin), the principal deity in the mae-dachi style. In addition, the lower chamber houses statues of the Kannon dedicated by Tokugawa Ieyasu, Tokugawa Iemitsu, and Prince Kozun (the second prince of Emperor Chugokomon, the Tendai Zashu).

In front of the door of the palace hangs an embroidered door ledger called “Gotocho. Statues of Brahma and Teishakuten stand on either side of the front of the palace. In the back of the palace, there is a statue of the holy Kannon (also known as Ura-Kannon), which is said to be the same as the main image of the hidden Buddha.

On December 12 and 13 of each year, a soot-dispelling ceremony and the opening of the main door are held. The main image of the Kannon is an absolutely secret statue and is not open to the public, but the statue of the Kannon in the “You-tachi” (stand-up guardian deity) can be viewed by the general public during the opening ceremony on December 13 at 2:00 p.m.

From February 2009 to December 2010, the “Heisei Main Hall Repair Project” was conducted. The roof was replaced for the first time in 50 years since its reconstruction in 1958. Titanium tiles (made by Kaname: using TranTixxii titanium material), which were also used in the renovation of the Hozomon Gate, were adopted. The number of colors used was increased from two to three to create a texture more similar to clay tiles.

On the morning of June 13, 2020, a dedication ceremony was held for the new flat plaque. The plaque with the inscription “Shi-Mu-Awe” was dedicated in 1727, but was destroyed by fire in the Tokyo Air Raid of 1945, and a photographic reproduction had been displayed on the wall. The new plaque is a single large zelkova board with the inscription “Shi-Mu-Awe” by Tendai priest and calligrapher Toyomichi Shunkai, engraved by Nanbu Hakuun, a sculptor of the Inami Sculpture Company. It is approximately 4 meters wide, 1.3 meters long, 15 centimeters thick, and weighs 700 kilograms. The carving was supposed to be new when the main hall was reconstructed in 1958, but it was not realized for a long time because a large single plate could not be procured.

Five-storied Pagoda
It is said that the pagoda was built by Taira no Konga in 942. This pagoda is said to have been a three-story pagoda and is depicted in the “Edo Zu Byobu. Like the main hall, it was not destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake, but was destroyed in the Tokyo Air Raid of 1945. The present pagoda was rebuilt in 1973 on the west side of the main hall, near the site of the three-story pagoda that was destroyed by fire in 1631. It is a reinforced concrete structure with an aluminum alloy tile roof. Inside the platform is a hall for tablets for perpetual memorial services, and on the uppermost level of the pagoda is a stupa with a chedi imported from the Isulmuniya Temple in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Before the reconstruction, the pagoda was located on the east side. A stone marker inscribed with “Pagoda” was placed at the location (in front of the police box), but in 2009, a new stone monument inscribed with “Site of Old Five-Story Pagoda” was installed. Trees have been planted in the surrounding area, providing a place for relaxation. It is one of the four Edo Pagodas and one of the six Edo Pagodas.

Tiles made of aluminum were used, but in June 2017, titanium tiles (made by Kaname: using TranTixxii titanium material) in three colors used in the main hall were introduced.