Japan's nativist Shintoism and its later promulgated Buddhism have grown up in very close proximity in Japan, making Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples equally important parts of the Tokyo landscape.
Of the thousands of shrines (or, jinja) and temples (o-tera) in Tokyo, here is a top-ten shrine and temple selection to get the sightseeing pilgrim started.
The
temples and shrines featured here are selected primarily for their own
unique features, but with consideration given too to their
sightseeing-rich neighborhoods, often containing other shrines and
temples well worth visiting.
1. Meiji Shrine
Main Hall of Meiji Shrine, Tokyo
Stately Meiji Shrine is surrounded by Yoyogi Park:
a sprawling expanse of green in central west Tokyo. Meiji Jingu Shrine
is dedicated to the souls of Emperor Meiji (1852-1912), Japan's first
modern, constitutional monarch, and his wife, Empress Shoken (1849-1914).
A museum houses historical memorabilia of the couple and their court.
Meiji Shrine is a very popular place for traditional Japanese-style
weddings, much of which are visible to shrine visitors. The
ultra-fashionable areas of Aoyama, Omotesando, and Harajuku are a short
walk away, and Shibuya and Shinjuku are just a couple of stops on the
Yamanote Line. A wood of over 100,000 trees surrounds Meiji Shrine, with
walkways through it to explore the multifarious and near-pristine
sylvan beauty.
Read more about Meiji Shrine.
2. Sensoji Temple
Pagoda and Main Hall of Sensoji Temple, Asakusa, Tokyo
Sensoji Temple in Tokyo's proletarian east-end area
of Asakusa is reputedly one of Tokyo's oldest temples, founded in 628.
Sensoji is not only one of Tokyo's grandest-looking temples, with its
big, bold red gate, imposing temple buildings, and five-story pagoda -
but it is also one of the most buzzing temples in the metropolis. More
than just a temple, Sensoji is a neighborhood in its own right,
preserving the feel of old Tokyo. A unique feature is its entrance path
lined with hundreds of stalls selling food and trinkets to the thousands
of visitors that throng the temple. Read more about Sensoji Temple
3. Nezu Shrine
Nezu Shrine Entrance with torii gate and lantern
Nezu Shrine, a short way from Tokyo's famous Ueno
Park, has its roots in almost 2,000 years of Japanese history, and is
closely associated with Japan's Imperial family. Nezu Shrine is famous
first and foremost for its azalea garden that is a riot
of vivid spring pinks, whites and purples in April. But even when the
azaleas are not in bloom, Nezu Shrine is a must-see for its elegant old
buildings, kept in pristine condition with crisp, colorful traditional
designs, and its simply but beautifully landscaped grounds, extra
special for being on two levels. One architectural feature of note is
the hundreds of torii archways that make tunnel-like paths around part
of the grounds. Read more about Nezu Shrine
4. Tennoji Temple
Bronze Buddha, Tennoji Temple, Yanaka, Tokyo
Tennoji Temple would top the list if were all about
location. Set amidst a huge wood-like cemetery, led up to by
Sakura-dori, a long vista of cherry trees, Tennoji is the epitome of
nature-blessed Buddhist tranquility. The old age of the temple (the
oldest in the surrounding historical Yanaka district at over 800 years)
gives it a patina of quietude, enhanced by the beautifully landscaped
precincts that include lawn (uncommon in Japan), and a gate done in
concrete with a modernist feel. A big bronze praying Buddha dominates
the main lawn. Tennoji has an unexpected historical twist in that it
used to run Tokyo's biggest public lottery, meaning that what now feels
like a hermitage used to be rank and file pandemonium!
Read more about Tennoji Temple
5. Yushima Seido
Daiseidan Main Building, Yushima Seido
Yushima Seido Temple, in its imposing propriety,
speaks to the role of Chinese Confucianism in Japan. This temple was
established in Ueno by tutor to the first four Shoguns, the
neo-Confucian scholar Hayashi Razan (1583-1657). In the late 18th
century, it became the official training institution for bureaucrats of
the Shogunate upon its move to its current location in Tokyo's Bunkyo
ward. Yushima Seido has an unshakable place in the development of
Japan's education system, having been the site of several
education-related institutions. Although reconstructed as recently as
1935, the current buildings convey the respectable grandeur of the
temple's history, and have the world's biggest Confucius statue.
Yushima Seido is a popular place of supplication for students.
Read more about Yushima Seido
6. Narita-san Fukagawa Fudo-Do (Fukagawa Fudoson)
Narita-san Fukagawa Fudo-do (Fukagawa Fudoson), Tokyo
Popularly known as Fukagawa Fudoson, Narita-san Fukagawa
Fudo-Do is a temple in the richly historical east Tokyo Fukagawa
district. The temple's drawcard is its looks: featuring the extremes of
age and modernity, as well as the depth of tradition that has built up
around the temple over the centuries since its inception. The old temple
worship hall was relocated to here in the 1860s, and the original
relocated building remains to this day - making it a very old structure
for Tokyo; and the striking cubist new main hall was built in the 2010s.
Fukagawa Fudoson's rituals include cedar-stick burning and drumming
rituals, creating the mystical atmosphere typical of Shingon Buddhism.
The luxuriously decorated interior of the Old Hall is testimony to the
temple's roots in the rising wealthy class of Tokyo back at the start of
the 1700s. Part of Fukagawa Fudoson's attraction is its proximity to
scores of other interesting temples in the Fukagawa neighborhood, easily
making for a day of fulfilling historical Tokyo sightseeing.
Read more about Fukagawa Fudoson
7. Yushima Tenmangu (Yushima Tenjin)
Nadeushi ("stroking cow") at Yushima Tenjin Shrine
Yushima Tenjin is a picturesque shrine perched on high ground in
Bunkyo ward, Tokyo. Yushima Tenjin dates from the fifth century, when it
venerated a mythical Shinto god, then in the 14th century it became
associated with the classical Confucian scholar, Sugawara no Michizane
(845-903). The building, made of cedar, glows rich golden-brown, and
inherits the design of a late-15th-century rebuilding. The details of
the architecture are pleasing, with vivid carvings of scenes from
legend. The shrine's divinity being a scholar, it is visited by students
seeking an otherworldly hand for exam success: apparent in the votive
plaques on racks in front of the shrine. A beautiful bronze nadeushi
"stroking cow" outside is believed to confer healing. Read more about Yushima Tenjin
8. Yasukuni Shrine
Great Torii Gate, Yasukuni Shrine,Tokyo
Yasukuni Shrine is dedicated to Japan's war dead, and as such
is disproportionately political - as opposed to religious - in its
significance. Its location at the top of Kudanzaka slope, on a site very
close to the Imperial Palace, makes Yasukuni a commanding presence
that helps define Tokyo's cityscape. Yasukuni Shrine's internal layout
is also grandiose, from the towering torii gates on in through the vista
up to the main shrine building. The the grounds have numerous statues
and memorials here and there connected with war. Yasukuni Jinja even has
its own war museum, albeit with a very nationalistic take on things. On
weekends Yasukuni's grounds are a regular venue for second-hand
markets. In mid-July, the shrine's summer Mitama Matsuri festival is
hugely popular, drawing thousands of yukata-clad youth. Read more about Yasukuni Shrine
9. Zojoji Temple
Zojoji Temple has stood at its present location in Tokyo since 1598
Zojoji Temple, in Tokyo's Minato ward, is replete
with Tokyo history. Now neighbors with Tokyo Tower and Shiba Park,
Zojoji used to envelop the whole area, and is only a remnant of the
massive complex it used to be. However, Zojoji is very much worth a
visit for its long and intimate association with the Tokugawa family
which seized national power at the beginning of the 17th century and
wielded it from its castle (now the Imperial Palace) through to the end
of the 19th century. Six of the fifteen Tokugawa Shoguns are therefore
buried in Zojoji. Zojoji is also renowned for its Sangedatsu Gate, a
building dating from 1622, which survived bombing during the Pacific
War, making it supposedly the oldest wooden structure in Tokyo. The
giant Daibonsho bell cast in 1673 is still tolled six times a day. And
the tree planted there by 18th U.S. president, Ulysses S. Grant, is
still growing strong. Read more about Zojoji Temple
10. Sengakuji Temple
Sengakuji Temple, Tokyo
Sengakuji Temple makes it into Tokyo's top ten purely for
reasons of history and legend. This small, otherwise unremarkable temple
in Minato ward, with little to commend it in terms of architecture or
beauty of layout, is the resting place of the 47 Samurai (or 47 Ronin).
The story of the 47 Ronin is a staple of inspirational legend in Japan,
institutionalized in the form of the Chushingura narrative, and was
catapulted to fame in the West with the 2013 movie, 47 Ronin.
Sengakuji Temple has a modern museum, the Akogishi Kinenkan, displaying
fascinating realia connected with the early 18th-century incident of
loyalty and revenge, as well as an older annex showcasing the actual
clothing and armor worn by the brave forty-seven on their deadly
mission. Their graveyard at the far end of the temple, up the steps, is
inspiring in its stony simplicity. Read more about Sengakuji Temple
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