A pocket of harmony

I am in awe of the discipline and respectfulness the Japanese people show towards others and their environment... no one shouts, children are seen but not heard (quite the opposite to the Italian culture), litter is non-existent. We grasped the basics of Japanese bowing and a few words in Japanese which always produced a smile on our hosts faces.

We learnt that the act of visiting and praying at a shrine of a temple is called omairi. Shrines have a simple gate, called a torii, that separates the human world and sacred ground, while the gates of a temple, called a sanmon, look more like a large house rather than a gate. Secondly, temples almost always have Buddhist images and statues, while shrines do not. In other words, gods reside in shrines, while Buddhas reside in temples.

It was the sense of peace that struck me every I went. The Japanese culture can be described as a "collective" one and certainly the calm is omnipresent. No pushing, no shoving, just kindness and patience. A phase I read describes it best: "We're taught that this world is for the people, and the people are what make this world go round."

In the middle of the hectic city, around the corner from our hotel, I found a little shrine that stood like "The little house" from 1942.

Sensoij is an ancient Buddhist temple located in Asakusa. It is Tokyo's oldest temple, and one of its most significant.

Burning osenko (incense) in large incense burners (jokoro) and fanning some smoke towards myself as it is believed to have healing power.

For only 100 yen, you can purchase an omikuji, a slip of paper with fortunes written on it; depending on your fortune, you can either keep them or tie them to a rope. 

The Kaminarimon chōchin (a Japanese traditional lantern) is 3.9 meters high, 3.3 meters in diameter and 700 kg in weight.

Details of the temple

A native engineer her prayers with a bow. 

A tiny shrine hidden in an alley way. A peaceful oasis of quiet in a city of lights and sound.

Tsukiji Honganji Temple is an example of unique architecture inspired by Indian Buddhist architecture.

The chozuya is where you purify yourself before approaching the main shrine. You fill the ladle with water and pour some water on your left hand, then right hand. Next, you clean your mouth by holding the ladle in your right hand again and pouring some water into your left hand and rinsing lightly.