Senso-ji, Asakusa Kannon Temple
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Senso-Ji
On
March 18, 628, on a bright early morning, at
the time when Japan’s capital was Asuka
(known today as the Nara Prefecture), two
brothers who were fishermen, Takenari and
Hinokuma Hamanari, were in the Sumida River,
fishing. Sensing that something was
happening, they hoisted their net up to
discover a Bodhisattva Kannon statue.
Upon hearing of this discovery, Asakusa’s
village headman, Haji no Nakatomo, instantly
knew that the statue was that of an
important Buddhist deity. He immediately
took on Buddhist priest vows and
reconstructed his home into a shrine and
dedicated the rest of his life to the
service of the Bodhisattva Kannon.
Seventeen years later, a famous Buddhist
priest named Shokai Shonin put up the
Kannondo Hall after visiting the district of
Asakusa during his wanderings. Obeying a
vision he got in a dream, he declared that
the statue should be concealed from human
eyes, and this has always been the way since
then.
At the time when the shoguns were the most
influential force in the country in the era
of Kamakura (from 1192 to 1333), these great
warriors were highly devoted to the
Senso-ji. Eventually, other prominent
historically figures including the literati
and other commanders of the military came to
worship as they did.
The oldest temple in Tokyo, the Senso-ji is
known affectionately to the Japanese people
as the Asakusa Kannon temple and it is
visited by over 30 million people each year.
It still remains today as an important place
of worship.
