The name of Asakusa will remind you the busy quarters around the Sensoji Temple first of all.
But,the busy quarters are not all of Asakusa.
Asakusa has many interesting and exciting things in other places than the busy quarters.

Please send us your thoughts,opinions,memories,the pictures you have about Asakusa and so on freely.

According to "Dictionary For Study of Edo and Tokyo".... About the east half of the Taito ward,the area on the west of The Sumida River were once generally called Asakusa. This area was surrounded by the Sumida River in the east,the Kanda River in the south and the Omoi River also called the Komaarai River in the north. From the 11th year of Meiji(1878) to the 22nd year of Showa(1947) Asakusa was the name of the ward of this area till the Taito ward started. There are various opinions about the origin of the name of Asakusa. Some say it originates from the Ainu word "Atsuakusa"(means to go across the ocean) and the others say it originates from the Tibetan word "Arsha-kusha"(means the place for a saint). The widely accepted opinion is described in "The Illustration of Edo In The Old Times" as follows :"The area from Shitaya to around here is the end of the Musashino Plain and the grass in this area is short. So,this area was called Asakusa(asa means short and kusa means grass) ."

When one of the famous leaders in Japanese history,Minamotono Yoritomo,tried to build the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine,he could not find out excellent carpenters around Kamakura. So,he invited some carpenters from Asakusa and made them build the shrine. Before the dispatch of the carpenters to Kamakura ships were increased and the traffic became busy in Asakusa. In the end of the Muromachi era fairs(places for the trade of the articles) were opened in the precincts of the Sensoji Temple.

In the Edo era Edo city develped remarkably and tookover Asakusa.

When one of the great leaders,Tokugawa Ieyasu,entered into Edo in the 18th year of Tensho(1590),he designated the Sensoji Temple as the place of praying for himself and contributed the territory equal to 90 thousand liters of rice. In the 13th year of Kanei(1636) The 3rd shogunate Iemitsu rebuilt the main hall of the temple which had been burnt down in April in this year. But,it was burnt down again after 6 years.Iemitsu reconstructed the temple. He rebuilt the main hall,the Five-Storied Pagoda,the Niomon Gate and the Kaminarimon Gate during the period from 1648 to 1649. Japanese style cafeterias which offered tea and cakes appeared in the precincts of the Sensoji Temple in the early Edo era.Cafeterias in the Edo era were the places for rest and the origin of them was the cafeteria in the Sensoji Temple. Next we will tell you about the street entertainments. They were performed on the two spots in the Sensoji Temple. One of the spots was on the Omote Sando Street(the present Nakamise Street) and the other was on the right just front the Niomon Gate.

In the Meiji era the governor of Tokyo prefecture,Okubo Ichio,designated the 5 places in Asakusa as the parks and reported Japanese government in those days on the 15th in January in the 6th year of Meiji(1873).The 5 places were the follows. *the Kaneiji Temple in Ueno *the Sensoji Temple *the Zojoji Temple in Shiba *the Tomioka Hachiman Shrine in Fukagawa *the Mt.Asukayama The precincts of the Sensoji Temple was named "Asakusa Park". And,"Asakusa Park" was divided into 6 blocks in the 17th year of Meiji(1884) and newly added the 7th block to them in September in the same year. The 1st block…Around the main hall of the Sensoji Temple,the Asakusa Shrine,the Nitenmon Gate,the Niomon Gate, the Five-Storied Pagoda,the Awashimado Temple. The 2nd block…The Nakamise Street. The 3rd block…The site of the Denpoin Temple,the main temple of the Sensoji Temple. The 4th block…The forest and water area in the park,the Ohike Pond and the Hyotanike Pond were here. The 5th block…This block was the north of the park and was called Okuyama.Hanayashiki is in this block. The 6th block…This block is the center of the entertainments and the present Movies Street(except the site of the former Hyotan Ike Pond) is here. The 7th block…This block was the south east of the park.From the 1st to the 5th block of Asakusa Umamichicho.

After that these 6 blocks called "Rokku" were loved by the citizens of Tokyo and attracted many crowds.

In the 16th year of Meiji(1883) a pond was made in the west side of Okuyama in the precincts of the Sensoji Temple by digging the rice field and the land along the south and the west of this pond was prepared by the ground dug out and the streets were developed on the land. This pond was called Hyotan Ike in a popular name. In the 20th year of Meiji(1887) artificial Mt.Fujisan appeared in Asakusa. We hear people walked up the mountain road drawing a screw and enjoyed a prospect at the top of this mountain. But,this "mountain" could not get enough popularity and was scrapped in the 23rd year of Meiji and the Japan Panorama Theater was opened on the site. In this theater the picture that could be overlooked widely at 360 degrees was shown. In the same year the Ryounkaku Building was opened and was called Asakusa 12 Stories and was loved by people. This building had been a symbol of Asakusa till the Great Kanto Earthquake.

Theaters,movie theaters and vaudeville theaters the total of which was about 20 stood in a line in the entertainment street in Asakusa Rokku. And,this area was crowded with young workers called "decchi"( in a old name),soldiers and students on holidays. In those days,although the admission fee in a first class first-run theater in other places was usually 20 sen, the admission fee for the same movie was only 7 sen in Asakusa where the discount fees prevailed. In Asakusa even young workers "decchi" could enjoy plays all day. In the 36th year of Meiji(1903) Electronic Palace was opened as the first movie theater where silent movies were regularly shown. Operas in the Taisho era,revues and short comedies in the early Showa era…many entertainments appeared and were loved by people in Asakusa. Most of the entertainers who took active parts before the 40's of Showa were trained in Asakusa. After that time famous theaters and the like in Asakusa disappeared gradually.

Sensoji Temple

Asakusa Shrine

Chronological Table

Who's Who

The sources of the photographs are the follows:Newly Edited Collection of the Photographs of Beauty Spots in Tokyo (published around the 40th year of Meiji),
Photograph Album of Beauty Spots in Tokyo(published around the end of Meiji),
Photograph Album of Great Tokyo(published in the 5th year of Showa),
These data are owned by the Library of the Taito ward.