Senso-ji Japan

Legendary

Built in the 7th century AD, it's the oldest temple in Tokyo.

Photo by Sergiy Galyonkin

Two fishermen pulled a small golden statue out of the Sumida River, decided they didn't want it, and threw it back. It came back in their net.

They tried again. It came back again.

According to the legend, this happened on the morning of March 18, 628, to two brothers named Hinokuma Hamanari and Hinokuma Takenari. Eventually they gave up and showed the statue to their village chief.

He recognized it as Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy. He turned his own house into a shrine to hold it.

In 645, a priest named Shokai came to the village and built a real temple hall for the statue. That's the year Senso-ji is said to have been founded, making it the oldest temple in Tokyo.

Shokai had a dream telling him to hide the statue from view. It's been hidden ever since, and nobody living has seen it.

A second statue, carved in 857, stands in for it. That one is shown to the public just once a year, on December 13.

The village of Asakusa grew up around the temple over the centuries. Shoguns gave it money and protection, and a street of shops called Nakamise grew along the path to the gate.

Then on March 10, 1945, during World War II, American bombers set fire to Tokyo. The temple's main hall, a national treasure, burned down along with most of the buildings around it.

The statues survived. The temple was rebuilt with donations from across Japan, and the current main hall was finished in 1958.

A few things did escape the fire. The Asakusa Shrine next door, built in 1649 to honor the two fishermen and their chief, is one of the oldest buildings left in the neighborhood.

Walk under the huge red lantern at the Kaminarimon, the Thunder Gate, and look for the statues of the wind and thunder gods on either side. Follow Nakamise street past 250 meters of stalls selling rice crackers and sweet bean cakes. At the main hall, wave the incense smoke over yourself for good luck, then shake a metal box to draw a paper fortune.