Tokyo: Asakusa- Sensouji Temple Main Hall

The Sensouji Temple makes its claim to fame as the oldest temple in Tokyo and said to have a golden Kannon statue. However, the public cannot see it because the monk Shokai had a mysterious dream that informed to hide the statue from human view. Although the monk Ennin created an identical statue and called the spirit of the original into the new one. Makes you wonder what is the truth behind that story. . . I smell a cover up. Sensouji and Asakusa are the same characters but the first is the Chinese pronunciation and the second is Japanese.
Here are picture of the main gate called Kaminarimon Gate:

This is a sculpture under the big lantern in the middle of the gate.

There are four statues inside four rooms that make up the pillars of the main gate. Two in the front and two in the back. You can sort of see them in the first image on the left and right of the big lantern.

First one is Raijin, the god of thunder. The second one is Fuujin, the god of wind. I don't know who are the two statues on the back of the gate.



Now, the legend behind the statue is that in 628 a couple of brother fisherman were commanded by god to cast their net into the river. When they pulled the net out inside was the golden statue of Kannon. After the fisherman told their story to the villagers the headman Haji Nakatomo decided to become a buddhist monk and transforming his home into a temple to hold the statue. The one who built the actual main hall specifically for the worship of the Bodhisattva Kannon was Shokai. Shokai is thus credited with the foundation Sensouji.
Now you go through the main gate and enter the Nakamise-dori which is a long shopping street sure to make any shopping lover to adore this temple.

This shopping center has a vary amount of stuff from masks to cute phone straps to really cool traditional Edo made products.

So I walk done the street, which is like three or four blocks long, taking in the sights.

Here are the pics.

I have no idea who his.

Again, no idea.

The Seven Lucky Gods

After the stopping street the path leading the the main temple hall had a long row of food stands, I'll explain why a little further down. For lunch I had Yakisoba and Takoyaki. 

I also may have had some soft serve.

My excuse, soft serve here is like ice cream in America there are quite a number of flavors. From the usual green tea or strawberry to the Hokkaido and black sesame flavor.

I had chocolate. It was good, best I ice cream I have had in a month. It tasted like dark chocolate. Definitely better than what I get at home. 

After the shopping is the main temple.

Again, the pics.:

Deity on the left. 

This is under the two golden lanterns in that gate. 

Deity on the right.

 Going through this gate you enter the main plaza which has multiple fortune papers stations and on both sides of the plaza as well. The fortune papers are indeed in english.

  I also got a fortune it wasn't big luck but it was normal good luck. Any good luck is better than bad luck. You know.

This is where you cleanse your self before entering the temple. It is really cool with multiple dragon heads around the basin.

Weird green thing that sort of looks like a collection of buckets.

 

The next couple of pictures are of the main hall, finally. The paintings of the dragon with the two angels on the sides is a ceiling paining inside the shrine. There was no sigh that said not to take picture so I did. The final image in the worship temple shrine.

In the area of the main plaza is the Five-Story Pagoda.

You cannot go inside or at least not on the day I went. It dose remind me of the Pagoda from Pokemon Soul Silver. 

The reason for the food stands was because there was a festival going on the day I went. The Dancing Golden Dragon festival, to be precise. However, that is for next time.