SENSOUJI TEMPLE AND
ASAKUSAThe oldest temple

Attractive shopping town Sensō-ji is an ancient Buddhist temple

located in Asakusa, and Tokyo's oldesttemple.

 Foundation: March 18, 628

School: Syoukannon (Tendai)
Principal Image: Avalokitesvara
Bodhisattva (Sho Kanzeon Bosatsu) (Notopen for viewing)
Disclosed Statue: A statue of
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (ShoKanzeon Bosatsu) sculpted by Ennin Visitors: 30 million per year, 2.8million

during first three days in new year According to legend, a statue ofthe Kannon was found in theSumida River in 628 by twofishermen, the brothers Hinokuma
Hamanari and Hinokuma
Takenari.

 The chief of their village, Hajino

Nakamoto (or Matsuchi),recognized the sanctity of thestatue and enshrined it byremodeling his own house into asmall temple in Asakusa so thatthe villagers could worship
Kannon.

 The Kaminarimon "Thunder Gate" is theouter of two large entrance gates (11.7m tall, 11.4 m wide).

 The gate was first built in 941 AD by Tairano Kinmasa, a military commander. Thegate has been destroyed many times
throughout the ages.

 Ninety-five years after the last fire,

Konosuke Matsushita, the founder ofMatsushita Electric Inc. (now Panasonic),
was asked to rebuild the gate. With
donations from Matsushita, the gate wasrebuilt in 1960.

 A giant red lantern hangs under thegate is 3.9 meters tall, 3.3 meters wideand weighs approximately 700 kilograms.

 On the front of the Kaminarimon gate, thestatues of the Shinto gods Fūjin and Raijin aredisplayed.

 Fūjin, the god of wind, is located on the eastside of the gate, while Raijin, the god ofthunder, is located on the west side.

 The original sculptures were severely damaged

in the fire of 1865, with only the heads being
saved, and the statues restored for the gate's
1960 reconstruction.

 The Hōzōmon (Treasure-House Gate) is an

inner two-story gate (22.7 meters tall, 21
meters wide, and 8 meters deep) The second story houses many treasures.

The first story houses two statues.

 The Hōzōmon was first built in 942 by Tairano Kinmasa. Destroyed by fire in 1631, it
was rebuilt by Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1636.
The present reinforced concrete structure
was rebuilt in 1964 with a donation by
Yonetaro Otani, founder of Hotel NewOtani.

 On the Hōzōmon's north (back) face are

the waraji, two 4.5 m long, 1.5 m wide straw
sandals that weigh 400 kg each, showingthat huge person living to devil.

 Niō or Kongōrikishi (Deva Kings)are

two wrathful and muscular
guardians of the Buddha standingat the entrance of many Buddhist
temples in East Asian Buddhism in
the form of frightening wrestler-likestanding.

 Misshaku Kongō, also called Agyō("a"-form, general term openmouthed statues in aum pair), is asymbol of overt violence.

 Naraen Kongō, also called Ungyō( "um"-form, general term closedmouthed statues in aum pair). Hesymbolizes latent strength, holding
his mouth tightly shut.

 The Five-Storied Pagoda was first built

in 942 by Taira no Kinmasa. Tokugawa
Iemitsu had the old national treasurerebuilt, but it was burned to the ground
during the Great Tokyo Air Raid on
March 10,1945. It was rebuilt in 1973
with donations from devout believersaround the nation.
 Busshari (Buddha’s ashes) were given
as a gift from the royal temple of SriLanka.
 The pagoda has flexible structure toabsorb earthquake power.
 The five stories represent five elements
philosophy: Earth , Water, Fire, Windand Void. They are the elements in
the Universe from which are produced
all things Main hall : Tall and dramaticallysloping roof hall was Built by the 3rd
Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa
Iemitsu, designated a nationaltreasure once, but destroyed in on
March 10, 1945. It was rebuilt in 1958
with donations from followers allover Japan.

 Divided into the naijin (innersanctum) and the gejin (outersanctum).

 Hidden principal image,

Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (ShoKanon) sits in a miniature temple inthe middle of the inner sanctum.

 Jokoro (incense burner): To purify by the niceodor from the incense.

 It is said odor of incense can protect people

from evil, then it become a popular belief thatthe smoke from the incense burner has thepower to cure your ailing parts, if you pull thesmoke and rub it on them.

 Manji: left-facing or counterclockwise swastika, asymbol of good luck and prosperity in Hindu andBuddhist countries.

 In Buddhism it symbolizes the auspicious

footprints of the Buddha.

 It is used as a symbol for Buddhist temples onmaps.

 Hakenkreuz is right-facing or clockwise swastika.

 Niten-mon Gate: Originally built in

1618 to protect the Tosho-gu Shrine in
the precinct of Senso-ji .

 The current gate was built in 1649 as

the East Gate of Senso-ji.

 Two protective Buddhist deities(“Ten”) called Zochoten (Guardianof South) and Jikokuten (Guardian ofEast)are positioned on the left andright sides of the gate.

 “Niten-mon” in Japanese means“the gate of the two Ten: Heavenlydeities.” Asakusa Shrine, also known as Sanja-sama, is a shinto shrine located on
the grounds of Senso-ji, an exampleof the syncretism of Shintoism andBuddhism.

 The shrine honors the three men who

founded the Sensō-ji. two brothers offishermen named Hinokuma
Hamanari and Takenari, a wealthylandlord named Hajino Nakatomo.

 The Sanja Festival is one of Tokyo's

most popular festivals, two million
people enjoy the festival over thethird full weekend in May.

 Nakamise Shopping Street, about

300m long street between
Kaminarimon gate to
Hozomongate.

 Nakamise is one of the oldest

shopping streets in Japan.
Traditional Japanese toys, cakes,
and other souvenirs are all soldhere.