Benzaiten's Rain in Ningyocho

So where was I? Four trains up till Tokyo Dome. I then boarded the Oedo Line at Korakuen. I think I've ridden every part of the Oedo Line after five trips to Tokyo. This time from Korakuen Station to Kuramae Station where I got on the Asakusa Line. Rode that back to the place I stayed at the last time I was in Tokyo. Ningyocho.

Unlike the last time it was cool weather and very rainy. Which made taking photographs at Koami Jinja very difficult. It was sad for me because I really wanted to get some nice shots in the daytime. My prior visit was at night as I wrote about in this post.

I did use the chōzubachi this time although I had trouble remembering which hand to wash first.

Even in the rain it was nice to see the shrine again in daylight.

Walked a bit more to come across another place I had visited before. Dai Kannon Ji Buddhist Temple which I wrote about here with a lot of photographs.

I did get to see inside the shrine this time. I think that is Amida Buddha although I can not find information online about it. Very ornate shrine. The large cast iron head of Tetsuzo Bodhisavatta was not on view this time. It is behind the doors that are behind the statue.

I had hoped to get a bite to eat at the Mifune Izakaya this time but it was not open. Such was my luck. I did remember how to get to another place that had food that I enjoyed.  人形町今半惣 which translates to Ningyocho Now Semi-Prepared Foods. More about this great little place in this post.

Along with finally getting world famous taiyaki from Yanagiya.

After taking the Asakusa Line back to Hamamatsucho Station (would that be six or seven trains?) I was able to enjoy that delicious karaage fried chicken and potato salad for dinner. The little cup sake was from a konbini and I kept the cup since it is nice. More about sake in a later post.

Also enjoyed that Yanagiya taiyaki. Which ended up a little flattened by the time I made it back to my hotel.

Not to leave empty handed from Ningyocho, I did get a couple omamori or charms from Koami Jinja. The white one is for good health and the purple one with dragons is a protection charm. It joins my purple protection charm from Portland, Oregon. Covered from coast to coast now perhaps?

Dai Kannon Ji Temple in Ningyocho

Even though there are a number of interesting things to see in Ningyocho and that it's an area of historical cultural importance, it's difficult to find much in English about some the sights there like the Buddhist temple Dai Kannon Ji.

I came across Dai Kannon Ji, also known as Okannonji, while wandering around one morning. Curious, I looked around and took a few photos. Like these colorful banners which might be prayer flags.

Because land is expensive in Tokyo many shrines are on small parcels like this one. Interesting that even though it's not on a hill they still have stairs to walk up to it. Unless one is paying attention it would be easy to miss that it's even there. But once I walked up I could see the many different objects there like this chōzubachi (手水鉢) used for ritual washing of practitioners' hands and mouth. The marking on this one indicates it's for a Buddhist temple.

Since this is a Bodhisattva Kannon temple it's not surprising to see a number of Jizo statues since both are related to easing suffering along with other similar duties. The shrine for the Jizo is very well attended.

Both Kannon and Jizo are associated with salvation and safety of children and this shrine reflects that. Parents give prayers and offerings for their children both born and unborn.

This is the first Jizo shrine where I have seen people leaving prayer papers.

The colors of the bell pull are interesting also. Usually they are made of plain rope.

There were even ten tiny Jizo on the offering tray. I am not sure if this is related to the ten judges of hell. They are related to Jizo's role in delivering people from the torments of hell. Ten Jizo would help with defending from the ten judges.

I'm not sure what the scrub brushes are about. Perhaps it's symbolic for cleaning one's sins? This shrine isn't that big but there is a lot going on.

Even though at one time the Government separated the Shinto religion from Buddhist religion, Shinto shrines can still be found at Buddhist temples. Interesting that this Shinto Inari shrine is right at the chōzubachi and is attached to the side of the Jizo shrine. Trying to save space I suppose.

This is a very small Inari shrine with the kitsune fox statues behind glass. Usually there are at least two outside of the actual shrine. People worship Inari for prosperity. There is also a statue of Inari or possibly Dakini-ten riding the kitsune in the middle under the tiny torii.

This is the main building at this small temple. To the side of this building is a small black statue with three heads and eight arms which may represent Bato Kannon. The faces are angry and he is holding an ax in one hand, a sword in another and a flute. Bato Kannon is considered a protector of horses. Sadly my photo did not turn out well due to glass in front of the statue. Interesting to see it.

In this hall is a large cast iron head of Tetsuzo Bodhisavatta, a Buddhist saint. It is only on view a few days each year so I did not see it although in photos it is really large. What little information I could find in English is from this website that says it was dug from a well in the Edo era. The head was enshrined here in 1876, however the temple may have been built in 1880. The size of the head is a total of 170 cm and was previously in Kamakura before being brought here (per Japanese websites).

What I also found out is that they have doll memorial services here along with this temple being the third stop of the 33 Buddhist Temple Pilgrimage which dates back to Edo times.

There is a large incense burner. Incense is used to clear the mind and some believe that by wafting it over one's self it can help heal the body.

There are two of these at the main hall. Possibly they have lit candles in them? If so they must be quite striking to see when in use.

Also very beautiful were the lanterns decorated with what appears to be stylized irises.

I wish I had more information about Dai Kannon Ji Temple. With so many temples and shrines in Japan, it's difficult for them to document all of them and then trying to put that information in another language. It was a bit of work to find what I did find. I hope it helps make the photos more interesting.