Asakusa Shrine: Difference between revisions

{{infoboxInfobox religious building

{{nihongo|'''Asakusa Shrine'''|浅草神社|Asakusa-jinja}} is a [[Shinto shrine]] located in the [[Asakusa]] district of [[Tokyo]], [[Japan]]. Also known as {{nihongo|''Sanja-sama''||Shrine of the Three gods}}, it is one of the most famous Shinto shrines in the city.<ref name="mytravelguide">{{cite web |url=http://www.mytravelguide.com/attractions/profile-79065205-Japan_Tokyo_Asakusa_Shrine.html |title=Asakusa Shrine |accessdate=2008-03-07 |work=MyTravelGuide| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080306000841/http://www.mytravelguide.com/attractions/profile-79065205-Japan_Tokyo_Asakusa_Shrine.html| archivedate= 6 March 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref>

Also known as {{nihongo|''Sanja-sama''||Shrine of the Three gods}}, it is one of the most famous Shinto shrines in the city.<ref name="mytravelguide">{{cite web |url=http://www.mytravelguide.com/attractions/profile-79065205-Japan_Tokyo_Asakusa_Shrine.html |title=Asakusa Shrine |accessdate=2008-03-07 |work=MyTravelGuide| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080306000841/http://www.mytravelguide.com/attractions/profile-79065205-Japan_Tokyo_Asakusa_Shrine.html| archivedate= 6 March 2008 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> The shrine honors the three men who founded the neighboring [[Sensō-ji]]. Asakusa Shrine is partPart of a larger grouping of sacred buildings in the area., ItAsakusa canShrine be foundis on the east side of the Sensō-ji, down a street marked by a large stone ''[[torii]]''. One of the only two buildings in the area to survive [[World War II]], it is designated an [[Important Cultural Properties of Japan|Important Cultural Property]] due to its long history.

[[File:AsakusaShrine1439.jpg|left|thumb|A ''[[torii]]'' leadingmarking the wayentrance to Asakusa Shrine]]

An example of the ''[[IshinomaIshi-no-ma-zukuri|gongen-zukuri]]'' style of architecture, Asakusa Shrine was commissioned by [[Tokugawa Iemitsu]] and constructedbuilt in 1649 during Japan's [[Edo period]].<ref name="japanguide">{{cite web |url=http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3001.html |title=Sensoji |accessdate=2008-03-06| work=japan-guide.com| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080306034657/http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3001.html| archivedate= 6 March 2008 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurlurl-status= nolive}}</ref> It was constructed in order to honor the three men who established and constructedbuilt the Sensō-ji. The legend states that two brothers, fishermen named Hinokuma Hamanari and Hinokuma Takenari, found a [[Bodhisattva|bosatsu]] [[Kannon]] statuette caught in a fishing-net in the [[Sumida River]] on May 17, 628.<ref name="wgs">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldgreatestsites.com/sensoji.htm |title=Asakusa Kannon (Sensoji Temple) |accessdate=2008-03-06 |work=World Greatest Sites |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080318103100/http://www.worldgreatestsites.com/sensoji.htm |archivedate=18 March 2008 |deadurl=yes |df= }}</ref>

Legend states that two brothers, fishermen named Hinokuma Hamanari and Hinokuma Takenari, found a [[Bodhisattva|bosatsu]] [[Kannon]] statuette caught in a fishing-net in the [[Sumida River]] on May 17, 628.<ref name="wgs">{{cite web |url= http://www.worldgreatestsites.com/sensoji.htm |title=Asakusa Kannon (Sensoji Temple) |accessdate=2008-03-06 |work=World Greatest Sites |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080318103100/http://www.worldgreatestsites.com/sensoji.htm |archivedate=18 March 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The third man, a wealthy landlord named Haji no Matsuchi<ref name="official site">< /ref> (Haji no Nakatomo), heard about the discovery and approached the brothers to whom he delivered an impassioned sermon about the Buddha. The brothers were very impressed and subsequently converted to the Buddhist religion. The Kannon statue was consecrated in a small temple by the landlord and the brothers who thereafter devoted their lives to preaching the way of Buddhism.<ref name="official site">< /ref>. This temple is now known as the Sensō-ji. Asakusa Shrine was built in order to worship these men as deities. The shrine and its surrounding area and buildings have also been the site of many Shinto and Buddhist festivals for centuries. The most important and famous of these festivals is [[Sanja Matsuri]], held in late May.

[[Category:GongenImportant Cultural Properties of Japan]]