“I am the Buddha of the lost and the tired; your imperfection is the very reason I vowed to wait.”
In Asakusa’s Denbōin-dori they’ve hidden statues of all five thieves, but I only noticed two!
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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.
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An homage to Edo-period ukiyo-e:
stylish women of the “floating world,” symbolizing brief beauty – Old Tokyo.
Asakusa
t o k y o
Japan 🇯🇵
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When people say “the gate at Asakusa,” they usually mean Kaminarimon – the Thunder Gate.
Kaminarimon (雷門) – the Thunder Gate is the outer gate on the main street, with the huge red lantern that says “雷門.”
• Its formal name is Fūjin Raijin-mon – “Gate of the Wind God and Thunder God.”
• On one side is Raijin, god of thunder; on the other is Fūjin, god of wind – both there to protect the temple from storms, floods, and fires.
• The first Kaminarimon was built in 941, but the one standing now is from 1960, rebuilt after a fire with donations from the founder of Panasonic.
The giant lantern 🏮 is almost a character in its own right – nearly four meters tall and weighing hundreds of kilos. During big festivals, they actually fold it up so mikoshi (portable shrines) can pass under it.
29nov25
A kabuki/noh-style performer—a powerful, possibly supernatural figure with wild hair, dressed in luxurious kimono, holding a theatrical or festival drum, surrounded by falling gold “confetti.” It blends traditional stage symbolism (white face, wig, colours, drum) with everyday urban life (a metal shutter), which is very Japanese: old culture embedded right into the fabric of the modern city.
November 2025
Japanese Tradition/History-themed murals are displayed on the shop gates leading up to Sensō-Ji. A beautiful form of street art.
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