Hidden Edo

by Yumi Nishio

Though Tokyo is a city of cutting-edge technology, it is also overflowing with historical sights you can see up close—if you know where to look for them.

Tokyo has a long history. It’s the place where the Tokugawa Shogunate, the last feudal Japanese government, settled down during the Edo period (1603 to 1868). During this period, Japan enjoyed a long peace with less warfare among its samurai lords, and as a result of the governmental lockdown of the country, a unique Japanese culture flourished with very little influence from the outside world.

As the centre of the shogun’s rule, Edo (as Tokyo was then called) boasts numerous big temples and beautiful shrines that were built to protect the government and its people. Most of these sights are listed in Tokyo guidebooks should tourists want to visit them and see the spectacular architecture that demonstrated the power of the shogunate at that time. But these grand buildings do not show you a complete picture of day-to-day life for commoners in the Edo period. Where did Edo commoners go to worship?

The working classes’ places of worship were right in their neighbourhoods. These shrines are called ujigami, or chinjugami, meaning a guardian god or a patron spirit that protects a given area. Some of these places of worship can be traced back beyond the Edo period, and these holy places are still there to protect locals even in the busiest areas of the metropolis that is Tokyo.

Shibuya: Toyosaka Inari Shrine

©Shingo Natori

The Shibuya area boasts more than a few large shrines, such as Meiji Jingu and Togo Shrine near Harajuku Station, and Toyosaka Inari Shrine located right next to the popular shrine Konno Hachiman-gu. Konno Hachiman-gu was renowned for its lacquered main building, which was donated by Lady Kasuga (Kasuga no Tsubone) as thanks for Iemitsu becoming the third shogun. Next door, the Toyosaka Inari Shrine is closely connected to local worshipers. While the building at this shrine is relatively new, it represents many indigenous gods and spirits whose former shrines were moved here to meet modern-day worshipers’ needs. They are still worshiped and deeply revered by the locals.

3-4-7 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Directions: 5-minute walk from the east exit of Shibuya Station on the JR Line, Tokyo Metro Ginza, Hanzomon Lines, Tokyu-Toyoko Line or Keio Inokashira Line

Shinjuku: Inari Kiou Shrine

©Shingo Natori

The only shrine in Japan that has the King of Ogres in its name, Inari Kiou Shrine is located at the north end of Kabukicho Street, one of the busiest streets in Japan. Not only is it a place of worship, but locals believe the shrine helps to heal any kind of illness, especially skin problems. Patients dedicate tofu to the shrine, then stop eating tofu until their problem resolves. To make wishes come true, try touching the Kaeru Rock on the premises. Kaeru in Japanese means “frog,” and it’s also a synonym for the word “return,” “change” or “come back.” It’s said this rock helps loved ones as well as money you spent to find their way back to you, and that it can change bad fortune to good fortune.

2-17-5 Kabuki-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Directions: 3-minute walk from Higashi-Shinjuku Station on Toei Subway Oedo Line or Fukutoshin Line; 15-minute walk from JR Shinjuku Station north exit

Ginza: Mimeguri Shrine Ginza Shusse Jizo-son

©Chuo City Tourism Association

Thirty-one metres (102 feet) above ground level, there sits a jizo guardian deity. On the ninth floor of the Ginza Mitsukoshi department store, there is a resting space called Ginza Terrace built for the relaxation and comfort of visitors where this guardian also rests. The statue, known as Ginza Shusse Jizo-son, was initially enshrined here from 1870 to 1902. It was then moved to a roadside location in Ginza 4-chome until partway through the postwar period, and later relocated to the Ginza Mitsukoshi rooftop following a complete renovation of the store. (This explains its name, Shusse, which means “moved up” in Japanese.) Mimeguri Shrine houses the guardian deity of the Mitsui Family, the founders of the department store. It is believed to be an auspicious shrine whose deity grants any wish that visitors bring to it.

4-6-16, Ginza Mitsukoshi 9F, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Directions: Direct access from Ginza Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza, Marunouchi or Hibiya Lines; 2-minute walk from Higashi-Ginza Station on the Toei Asakusa Line or the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line; 5-minute walk from exit nine of Ginza-Itchome Station on the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line

©Shingo Natori

Ginza: Asahi Inari Shrine

This shrine is one of the most modern takes on shrines in Japan. Due to the earthquakes in the late Edo period, this shrine sunk into the ground and collapsed. Later on, in 1917, the shrine’s spirits were rediscovered and enshrined again. This shrine went through the firebombing of Tokyo during World War Two and three reconstructions, and is now settled on a rooftop overlooking Ginza. The first and second floors of the building are “connected” to the rooftop via a pipe that is filled with soil, as well as with a speaker system, so that prayers from the first floor will reach the main shrine on the top. The rooftop shrine can be visited Monday through Saturday.

3-8-12 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Directions: 3-minute walk from Ginza Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza, Marunouchi or Hibiya Line; 3-minute walk from Higashi-Ginza Station on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line or the Toei Subway Asakusa Line

Ginza: Toyoiwa Inari Shrine

©Chuo City Tourism Association

Sitting quietly between the buildings in upscale Ginza, Toyoiwa Inari Shrine is believed to be home of a god of marriage and prosperous business. If you don’t know where to look, you are likely to miss the entrance path to the shrine. As you head through a dim alleyway, votive lights will welcome you. People say the history of the shrine goes back about 400 years, but it came to prominence when a famous kabuki actor worshiped passionately there during the Tokugawa Shogunate era.

7-8-14 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Directions: 10-minute walk from A2 exit of Ginza Station (Ginza Yonchome intersection exit) on the Tokyo Metro Ginza, Marunouchi or Hibiya Lines

©Chuo City Tourism Association