burning incense as a symbolic offering to the gods
this is Hondo, the temple's main hall
behind the gate is Nakamise-dori, a long lane line with little shops. Chopsticks anyone?
Fujin, the Shinto god of the wind, guards the right flank of the gate
here you can buy bonsai trees. They will fit in the smallest house
the Senso-ji Buddhist temple in Tokyo
Since 1869 Tokyo is the capital of Japan and the seat of the Emperor and the Japanese government. The official name is Tokyo Metropolis
and, including all the suburbs, this global city is home to a staggering 40 million people, about 30% of Japan's total
population.
It all started as Edo, a fishing hamlet under the rule of the Edo clan. They fortified the village in the
12th century and built Edo Castle. In 1603 Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu made Edo the center of his Tokugawa Shogunate and in the
next 2 centuries Edo grew into a major city with at its peak a population of one million citizens.
The shogunate collapsed in 1868,
power was restored under Emperor Meiji who moved the throne from Kyoto to Edo and renamed it Tokyo, meaning east-capital.
In March
1945 Tokyo was firebombed by the US Air Force that saw 100,000 killed and the city destroyed.
I have visited Tokyo many times,
but mostly saw customers, offices, restaurants and overloaded trains and airports. Only on my first visit way
back in October 1987 there was time for a quick tour to the Senso-ji Buddhist Temple from 645 AD.
the Kaminarimon gate to the Senso-ji temple sits somewhat hidden behind the busy Kaminarimon-dori street
over the entrance hangs a giant red lantern symbolizing thunder and lightning
an incomplete picture of the 5 story high pagoda
he needs a rest and the temple provides first row seats
the Hozomon inner gate was destroyed in WWII and rebuilt in 1964
after the visit to the temple we stroll along one of Tokyo's shopping street
for some reason people all over the world like to feed the pigeons