Origin of Sensoji Temple

-The Era of Worship for the Locals

Figure 1: Kambun Engi Emaki (漢文縁起絵巻), a picture scroll of the Kambun era that depicts the fishermen catching the golden Kannon statude. (Photo credit: http://www.senso-ji.jp/about/index_e.html)

Sensoji Temple(浅草寺), also known as Kinryuzan Kannon Temple (金龍山観音寺) or Asakusa Kannon Temple (浅草観音寺), is the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo today (Asakusa Umai-mono Kai, 2016).

According to “Engisho”, a document that records the origin of a temple, Sensoji Temple was constructed in 645 to honour the Goddess of Mercy and Happiness, Bodhisattva Kannon (JIDAIYA, 2016). 

As the legend has it, a golden Buddhist statue was caught by two fisher brothers at Sumida River (隅田川) on March 18th, 628 A.D (Senso-ji, 2016). Although the two brothers tried to return the small golden Buddha statue to Sumida River, it would always return to them the next day (Senso-ji, 2016). Thus, Sensoji Temple was erected in her honour, but the statue was never shown to the public (FrommerMedia LLC, 2016). 

Sensoji Temple later became famous after a renowned Buddhist priest, Shokai Shonin, visited the temple and inspired him to build Kannondo Hall located in Kiyomizu dera (清水寺) (Senso-ji, 2016).

Prior to the Edo period, Asakusa was mainly occupied by local fishermen due to its proximity to the Sumida River (Hur, 2000). Due to Sensoji Temple’s location in the “rural outskirts of shabby Edo” (Hur, 2000, p. 2), most of the worshippers and visitors of Sensoji Temple were local fishermen who prayed for a good catch on a daily basis. Refer to Figure 2 for the map of the rivers in the early Edo period. 

Thus, Sensoji Temple would have been neglected by the incomers of the Kansai region (Kansai was the political centre of pre Edo period), who were accustomed to the bustling life of Kyoto and Osaka, if Ieyasu Tokuguwa did not pay particular attention to the temple (Hur, 2000). 

Figure 2: A map of the rivers in the early Edo period. Clearly, Sensoji Temple (Asakusa Kannon on the map) was located in a rural area near the Sumida River. (Photo credit: https://japanthis.com/tag/sumida-river/)

References:

Asakusa Umai-mono Kai. (2016). Reference: Glossary of Terms. Retrieved Nov 9, 2016, from The Asakusa Umai-mono Kai: http://www.asakusa-umai.ne.jp/e_asakusa/matsuri/matsuri-02_e.html

FrommerMedia LLC. (2016). Sensoji Temple. Retrieved Nov 9, 2016, from Frommer's: http://www.frommers.com/destinations/tokyo/attractions/208351

Hur, N.-l. (2000). Prayer and Play in Late Tokugawa Japan: Asakusa Sensoji and Edo Society. Cambridge and London: Havard University Asia Center.

JIDAIYA. (2016, Nov 1). Retrieved Nov 9, 2016, from 浅草い〜とこ: http://www.asakusa-e.com/rekisi/senso_e.htm

Senso-ji. (2016). About Senso-ji. Retrieved Nov 9, 2016, from Asakusa Kannon - Senso-ji: http://www.senso-ji.jp/about/index_e.html