Tag: sensoji

ASAKUSA, JAPAN: SENSŌ-JI MAIN HALL

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Main Hall (Kannon-dō / Hondo)

The main hall of Sensō-ji enshrines Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion, and goes back to a temple founded in 645, making this Tokyo’s oldest temple site. The hall was rebuilt many times under the Tokugawa shoguns, survived fires and earthquakes, but was finally destroyed in the Tokyo air raids of 1945. The present building, completed in 1958 with donations from people across Japan, stands as both a living place of worship and a postwar symbol of recovery and resilience.

29nov 25

ASAKUSA, JAPAN: FIVE-STORY PAGODA AT SENSŌ-JI

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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.

29nov25