The Maker Speaks
Senso-ji
The Oldest Temple In Tokyo
The Oldest Temple In Tokyo
Off at Asakusa Station, walk eastward for a few minutes. That brings you to the Senso-ji Temple. Have you ever heard it? It is one of the most popular tourist spots in Tokyo, you can see many foreign tourists photo or talk cheerfully there on holidays.
Even if you have never heard the temple name, I suppose you must know the Kaminari-mon Gate. It is the main gate with a huge red paper lantern produced by Takahashi Chochin (lantern manufacturer in Kyoto). They say that the huge lantern was presented by Matsushita Ko-nosuke (who established Panasonic) in 1960. Its weight is about 700 kg!
The Kaminari-mon Gate
The Senso-ji is the oldest temple in Tokyo. It is said that they originally built it in 628. How far! But the gate was not there at the time.
One day, a Buddhist image was found by the brothers. They remodeled their home on their own for worshiping the image. Then it turned into a small temple in 628. They say that it is the beginning of the Senso-ji. Naturally, it was just a temple in a small way. The Kaminari-mon Gate was somehow added hundreds years later.
The Main Hall of Senso-ji
There is Asakusa Shrine in the east of the Senso-ji Main Hall. Why are shrine and temple standing together? The shrine was founded to enshrine the three who built Senso-ji. The Asakusa district has been prosperous, even today. And the Senso-ji has played the central role all the time. It must be natural for them to enshrine those who set it up at the outset, mustn't it?
Even if you have never heard the temple name, I suppose you must know the Kaminari-mon Gate. It is the main gate with a huge red paper lantern produced by Takahashi Chochin (lantern manufacturer in Kyoto). They say that the huge lantern was presented by Matsushita Ko-nosuke (who established Panasonic) in 1960. Its weight is about 700 kg!
The Kaminari-mon Gate
File: Sensoji at night 8.jpg
from the Japanese Wikipedia
（Photoed on Dec. 1, 2016）
The Senso-ji is the oldest temple in Tokyo. It is said that they originally built it in 628. How far! But the gate was not there at the time.
One day, a Buddhist image was found by the brothers. They remodeled their home on their own for worshiping the image. Then it turned into a small temple in 628. They say that it is the beginning of the Senso-ji. Naturally, it was just a temple in a small way. The Kaminari-mon Gate was somehow added hundreds years later.
The Main Hall of Senso-ji
File: Sensoji at night 6.jpg
from the Japanese Wikipedia
（Photoed on Dec. 1, 2016）
There is Asakusa Shrine in the east of the Senso-ji Main Hall. Why are shrine and temple standing together? The shrine was founded to enshrine the three who built Senso-ji. The Asakusa district has been prosperous, even today. And the Senso-ji has played the central role all the time. It must be natural for them to enshrine those who set it up at the outset, mustn't it?
