Sensoji Temple during and after WWII

-The Era of Destructions and Great Losses

Figure 1: A comparison of Asakusa Park before and after the firebombing in WWII. (Photo credit: http://wonderfulrife.blogspot.jp/2015/02/post-war-japan-photograph-asakusa.html)

Sensoji Temple and the Asakusa region were burnt down again after a firebombing raid in March, 1945 during World War Two (WWII) (Star, 2013). The air raid had targeted the Asakusa region as it was a crowded district that had a population density of 103,000 per square mile, where it even exceeded 135,000 per square mile in some parts of the area (Hewitt, 1983). Further, the buildings near Sensoji Temple were mostly constructed from bamboo, wood and plaster, which were extremely flammable (Hewitt, 1983). This factor and the congestion of the Asakusa area had intensified the fire in that region and affected neighbouring districts as well (Hewitt, 1983).  As a result, Sensoji Temple was inevitably destroyed by the firebombing in WWII. 

According to Place Annihilation: Area Bombing and the Fate of Urban Places (1983), many citizens had fled to the temple in attempt to escape the flames, possibly for protection by Bodhisattva Kannon: Goddess of Happiness and Mercy, but unfortunately, they all perished with the temple. The five-storey Pagoda and the two main gates: Kaminarimon and Hozomon were also demolished in the process, as shown in Figure 1 (Hewitt, 1983).

Figure 2: Comparison photos of Nakamise-dori right after the air raid in March, 1945 and now. (Photo credit: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2986094/Japan-s-forgotten-victims-pictures-Tokyo-recovered-70-years-firebomb-strike-killed-Nagasaki-single-attack.html)

In order to reconstruct the temple, Sensoji Temple was forced to sell off part of its lands, as it was one of the biggest landholders of that time but did not have enough money to rebuild the temple, as the funds were cut by the Meiji government (Star, 2013). Along with the donations offered by the public, Sensoji Temple and the gates were rebuilt to its former glory in 1958 (FrommerMedia LLC, 2016; JIDAIYA, 2016). This allowed Sensoji Temple, formerly associated with the Tendai sect (a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism), to become independent and it is now the head of the Seikannon sect (Asakusa Umai-mono Kai, 2016).

Although Sensoji Temple and the two main gates were rebuilt to resemble their prewar appearance, the new look of the entire Asakusa area did not resemble the Asakusa Park in the Meiji period and even less of its Edo period glory (Hewitt, 1983; Star, 2013). The reconstruction of the Asakusa region was in favour of a “futuristic perspective” rather than the “historic emphasis on urban geography” that was related to feng-shui, community and topography (Hewitt, 1983, p. 277). Refer to Figure 2.

Stores and other businesses re-emerged after the reconstruction, as worshippers continued to visit the temple each year, but this time they were there to “pray”, rather than to “play”. The entertainment activities that Asakusa was reknown for gradually dispersed to other areas in Tokyo after the government illegalised prostitution in 1956 and railway stations were built in other parts of Tokyo (Masaki-Knighton, 2015).

During the period of the United States Occupation between 1945 and 1952, moats and canals around Sensoji Temple and all around Tokyo city that were built to allow water trade were filled in to allow the reconstruction of the modern Tokyo city (Star, 2013; Class discussion, Oct 27^th 2016). Thus, the city of Tokyo transformed from a city of “water” to a city of “roads”, which further discounted the prominence of Sensoji Temple as the commercial activities shifted to other areas of Tokyo (Class discussion, Oct 27^th 2016). 

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

Class discussion. (2016, Oct 27).

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

Hewitt, K. (1983, June). Place Annihilation: Area Bombing and the Fate of Urban Places. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 37(2), 257-284.

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

Masaki-Knighton, M. (2015, Sep 6). The Entertainment Hub of Old Edo, Asakusa. Retrieved Nov 23, 2016, from Taiken Japan: Explore Japan: https://taiken.co/single/the-entertainment-hub-of-old-edo-asakusa

Star, M. (2013, Nov 13). What does Asakusa mean? . Retrieved Nov 9, 2016, from Japan This!: https://japanthis.com/tag/sensoji/