Tokyo
Shrines and Temples
Tokyo,
a city steeped in history and tradition,
has a wealth of religious monuments.
No trip to Tokyo is complete without
a visit to some of these impressive
places of worship, which include
both shrines and temples. Shrines
are places of worship for the followers
of Shinto faith, while temples are
for the followers of Buddhism.
Shrines:
Shinto,
the indigenous religion of Japan,
dates back to 2000 years. With no
founder, scriptures or catechism,
Shinto is a conglomeration of various
religious practices. Its followers
believe that everything in nature
is inhabited by a kami,
or a deity, and when people die,
they themselves become kami
and are worshipped by their
offspring and descendents.
Shrines
are places of worship where devotion
is paid to the Shinto kami.
People visit them to pay respect
to the kami
or to pray for good fortune
on special occasions.
Most
shrines are architecturally similar
as they tend to follow the construction
styles of Asian mainland, especially
the Buddhist style. All shrines
typically contain the same structures,
namely the torii
(gates marking the entrance
to a shrine), komainu
(guardian dogs, lions, or
foxes on either side of the entrance),
purification through (fountains
at the entrance where people clean
their hands and mouth before entering
the main hall), main and offering
halls (some shrines have separate
buildings for the two halls, while
others have them combined in one
building), and ema
(wooden plates on which people
write their wishes in the hope that
they come true). Besides these,
some shrines also have stages for
special performances. Omikuji
(fortune telling paper slips
tied on tree branches) and shimenawa
( straw
ropes with white zigzag paper strips
marking boundaries to sacred things)
can also be seen in certain places.
Sacred objects of worship representing
the kami are
usually kept in the inner chambers
of the main hall and cannot be seen
by anybody.
There
are several shrines in Tokyo, but
the most important are the “Ten
Shrines of Tokyo”. In 1868, after
Emperor Meiji moved to Edo and renamed
it Tokyo, he selected ten shrines
located in a circle around the palace
and sent an envoy to go pray there
for the safety and prosperity of
Tokyo and its people. Ever since
the shrines have come to be known
as the Ten Shrines of Tokyo” and
have become a small pilgrimage for
the people of the city.
These
ten shrines are:
Nezu
Shrine
1-28-9
Nezu Bunkyo-ku
5 minutes on foot from Nezu
Station
Kanda
Shrine
2-16-2
Soto-Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
5 minutes on foot from Ochanomizu
Station
Kameido
Tenjin Shrine
3-6-1
Kameido, Koto-ku
15
minutes on foot from JR Kameido
Station
Hakusan
Shrine
5-31-26
Hakusan, Bunkyo-ku
3 few minutes from Hakusan
Station
Oji
Shrine
1-1-12
Oji Hon-cho, Kita-ku
5 minutes on foot from Oji
Station
Shiba
Daimyojin Shrine
1
-12-7
Shiba-Daimon, Minato-ku
2
minutes on foot from Daimon Station
Hie
Shrine
2-10-5
Nagata-cho, Chiyoda-ku
5 minutes on foot from Akasaka-Mitsuke
Station
Shinagawa
Shrine
3-7
Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku
2
minutes on foot from Shinbaba Station
Tomioka
Hachiman Shrine
1-20-3
Tomioka, Koto-ku
2
minutes on foot from Monzen-Nakacho
Station
Hikawa
Shrine
6-10-12
Akasaka, Minato-ku
3
minutes on foot from Nogizaka
Station
There
are several other shrines in Tokyo.
Some of the more important ones
are:
Meiji
Shrine
1-1
Kamizono-cho, Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku
A
few steps from Meiji-jingu-mae
Station
Akagi
Shrine
1-3
Akagi-Motomachi, Shinjuku-ku
A
few minutes' walk from Kagurazaka
Station
Yushima
Tenjin Shrine
3-30-1
Yushima, Bunkyo-ku
3
minutes on foot from Yushima
Station
Yoyogi-Hachiman
Shrine
Next
to Yoyogi Park, Shinjuku-ku
A
few minutes' walk from Yoyogi-Koen
Station
Hanozono
Shrine
5-17-3
Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku
6-7
minute walk from Shinjuku
Sanchome Station
Fushimi
Sanpo Inari Shrine
Mita
Dori, Minato-ku
A
few minutes' walk from Mita
Station
Namiyoke
Inari Shrine
6-20-37
Tsukiji, Chuo-ku
3
minutes on foot from Tsukiji-Shijo
Station
Toshogu
Shrine
Ueno
Park, Taito-ku
4
minutes on foot from Ueno
Station
Yasukuni
Shrine
3-1-1
Kudankita, Chiyoda-ku
A
few minutes' walk from Kudanshita
Station
Temples:
Buddhism
was introduced in Japan from China
and Korea in the sixth century.
It gained widespread acceptance
in the seventh century after Prince
Shotoku (537-621) established
Buddhism as a national religion,
linking it to Confucian ideals of
morality and statecraft. In the
beginning of the ninth century,
Buddhism diverged into two sects
– Tendai sect led by Dengyo Daishi
(767-822), and Shingon sect led
by Kobo Daishi (774-835). By the
beginning of the Shogun Era (400
years later), four more new sects
were formed – Jodo, Jodo-Shinshu,
Zen, and Hokke. After the restoration
of Emperor Meiji, Shinto was again
made the national religion, but
by then Buddhism had established
itself deeply in the Japanese culture.
Today both Shinto and Buddhism are
practiced with equal devotion in
Japan.
Temples
are Buddhist places of worship.
There are thousands of temples in
Japan today, many of which are in
Tokyo. They all store and display
sacred Buddhist objects, and some
of them also function as monasteries.
As Buddhism had come to Japan from
China, almost all temples follow
the Chinese style of architecture
and typically contain the same structures:
There
is one main wooden gate which is the
entrance to the temple, then several
other smaller gates follow along the
path. The temple contains main halls
called kondo,
hondo, butsuden, amidado
or hatto , which contain
sacred objects of worship, including
statues. There are lecture halls as
well, called kodo , which
are used for meetings and lectures
and often display objects of worship.
Then there are pagodas, which are
usually three or five storied and
contain remains of Buddha such as
a tooth, usually in form of a representation.
The structure of the pagoda has evolved
from the Indian stupa. All temples
have bells which ring 108 times,
corresponding to the Buddhist concept
of 108 worldly desires, every New
Year's Eve. Cemeteries are also
located on temple grounds, which are
visited by the people several times
a year to pay respects to their ancestors'
graves.
Some
of the best known and important
temples of Tokyo are:
Sensoji
Temple
(Asakusa Kanon)
2-3-1
Asakusa, Taito-ku
A
few steps from Asakusa
Station
Zojoji
Temple
4-7-35
Shibakoen, Minato-ku
Short
walk from Shiba-koen
Station
Kiyomizu-do
Kannon Temple
Ueno
Park, Taito-ku
3
minutes on foot from Ueno
Station
Tozenji
Temple
3-16-16
Takanawa, Minato-chu
Short
walk from Takanawadai
Station
Zenpuku-ji
Temple
1-6
Moto-Azabu, Minato-ku
Short
walk from Azabu-Juban
Station
Tsukiji
Honganji Temple
3-15-1
Tsukiji, Chuo-ku
3
minutes on foot from Tsukiji
Station
Daienji
Temple
1-8-5
Shimo-Meguro, Meguro-ku
5
minutes on foot from Meguro
Station
Yagenbori
Fudosan Temple
2-6-8
Higashi-nihombashi, Chuo-ku
2
minute walk from Higashi
Nihombashi Station
Ikegami
Honmonji Temple
1-1-1,
Ikegami, Ota-ku
8
minutes on foot from Nishi
Magome Station
Eko-in
Temple
2-8-10
Ryogoku, Itabashi-ku
3
minutes on foot from Ryogoku
Station
Sengakuji
Temple
2-11-1
Takanawa Minato-ku
2
minute walk from Sengakuji
Station
Kaneiji
Temple
1-14-11
Ueno Sakuragi, Taito-ku
10
minutes on foot from Ueno Station
Jomyoin
Temple
2-6-4
Ueno Sakuragi, Taito-ku
10
minutes on foot from Ueno
Station
Gokokuji
Temple
5-40-1,
Otsuka, Bunkyo-ku
One
minute walk from Gokokuji
Station
Chokoku-ji
Temple
2-21-34
Nishi Azabu, Minato-ku
Few
minutes' walk from Shimbashi
Station
Seishoji
Temple
2-4-7
Atago, Minato-ku
Few
minutes' walk from Onarimon
Station
