The five-story pagoda at Sensō-ji stands beside the main hall as one of Asakusa’s key symbols. It is a Buddhist pagoda dedicated to Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion, and represents the five elements in Buddhist cosmology (earth, water, fire, wind, sky).

The first pagoda here was built in 942 CE by the military commander Taira no Kinmasa. Over the centuries it was destroyed several times by fire and rebuilt, and in 1911 it was designated a national treasure. The old pagoda, together with the main hall, was burned down in the Tokyo air raids of 1945.

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