SensÅ-ji
Sensō -ji (Japanese浅 草 寺), in others the reading characters also Asakusa -dera is a Buddhist temple in Asakusa, Tokyo. His formal temple name is Kinryūzan (Japanese金龙 山). It is Tokyo's oldest and most important temple.
History
The history of the temple goes back a long way. According to legend, three fishermen found in the year 628, a 5 cm large golden statue of Kannon in their network, which was then worshiped. In the year 645 the priest Shokai built a temple at the current location. 942 was the temple of Taira no Kinmasa, then Awa -no- kuni no kami, rebuilt. 1180 Minamoto no Yoritomo visited on the way from Shimosa to Kamakura the temple. Yoritomo took later craftsmen from the temple to Kamakura to build the Tsurugaoka Hachiman- gū. The reports about it for the first time appeared on the field name Asakusa. The temple burned from 1642, then at Kantō earthquake and during the Second World War, but was rebuilt again and again, most recently in 1958 using reinforced concrete.
During the Sensō -ji formerly belonged to the sect, Tendai shū, then to Kan'ei -ji, he is now the main temple its own direction, Shōkannon shū. He is the 13th of the 33 temples on the pilgrimage dedicated to the Kannon Bandō junrei in the Kanto area. Right next to the main hall is a Shinto shrine, the Asakusa -jinja.
The Temple District
In the temple area you walk through the big " HOZO - mon" said Tor, can, as usual, rinse his mouth with water and cleaned with smoke, before you reach the main hall of the temple, which is dedicated to the Buddhist deity Kannon grace. To the left in the background stands the five -story pagoda in the air. In the north- west of the temple grounds is the small hexagonal hall ( Rokkakudo ). It dates from the Muromachi period and is the oldest surviving building. Missing on the temple grounds not the stone pillar ( Mayoi -go Shirase sekihyō ) where stray children can be made and found by their parents. A garden is available for contemplation.
The Sensō -ji is visited every year by a large number of tourists from home and abroad. There are many traditional shops and dining rooms of where traditional dishes such as homemade pasta, sushi and tempura offered in the surrounding area. The entrance to the Nakamise -dori, which leads to the temple, is determined by the 1960 re-established Kaminari-mon ( " Thunder "). There is a huge paper lantern which is painted in vibrant red and blue tones that evoke associations with storm clouds and lightning at this imposing structure. On both sides of Nakamise -dori, there are small stalls hawking souvenirs such as fans, wood block prints, kimonos, but also toys, T -shirts and mobile phone pockets. These transactions are part of the tradition of Sensō -ji.
Note: The Sanja Matsuri, one of the three major Matsuri Tokyo, takes place on the weekend mid of May. It is a festival of Asakusa Shrine, not the temple.
View from the main hall to the forecourt and the Hōzōmon Gate
Nakamise - dori
Map drawing from 1820. In the background the mountain Tsukuba