Asakusa

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Entrance area of ​​the Sensō-ji
Rokku, Asakusa's entertainment district today

Asakusa ( Japanese 浅 草 , pronounced Aßak'sa, dt. Flat grass ) is a district in the Tokyo district of Taitō . The district is known for the Sensō-ji , the oldest and most important Buddhist temple in Tokyo, and the Asakusa Shrine in the immediate vicinity . Asakusa is located at the eastern end of the Tōkyō Metro Ginza line , about 1.8 km east of the Ueno main station.

history

For a long time Asakusa was known as an entertainment district, home to kabuki and rakugo theaters. After the Meiji Restoration , the modern entertainment industry gained a foothold and western theaters and cinemas emerged. The golden age of Asakusa is portrayed by Yasunari Kawabata in his story The Golden Bonds of Asakusa . However, after World War II , Asakusa lost its popularity as an entertainment district as other boroughs such as Shinjuku increasingly overtook it. Today Asakusa is not only known for Sensō-ji but also for the Nakamise shopping promenade and the annual Shinto festival Sanja Matsuri . Compared to other districts, Asakusa has many buildings from the 50s and 60s, including some traditional ryokan .

With the establishment of the old Tokyo Prefecture ( Tōkyō-fu ) in 1878, Asakusa was an independent urban district ( ku ) and belonged to this with the establishment of the city ​​of Tokyo in 1889 . In 1947 Asakusa lost its status as a municipality and was merged with Shitaya to form the new Taitō district.

traffic

Sons and daughters of the district

  • Hokusai, Katsushika (died here in 1849), painter, woodcut artist
  • Goi Masahisa (1916–1980), Japanese philosopher and peace fighter
  • Komiya Yasutaka (1925–2017), dyer and artisan

Web links

Commons : Asakusa  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 35 ° 43 '  N , 139 ° 48'  E