KAMINARI-MON

Description

Essentials about the Kaminari-mon in brief

The Kaminari-mon (Thunder Gate) is the outer of the two entrance gates to the Sensō Temple in Tokyo’s Asakusa district. The 11.7 meter high and 11.4 meter wide gate enjoys great popularity as a photo motif because of its oversized lantern and figures. The Kaminari-mon looks back on a long history. The first gate was built as early as 942. After several fires, the current Kaminari-mon dates from 1960.

The history of the Kaminari-mon

The Kaminari-mon was built in 942 by a military commander named Taira no Kinmasa. It originally stood at what is now Komagata Bridge further south, but was moved to its present location in 1635. Statues of the two Shintō gods (kami) for wind and thunder, Fūjin and Raijin, were reportedly first placed at the gate during this period.

The gate was repeatedly destroyed throughout history. Four years after the move, it burned down. In 1649, it was rebuilt by Tokugawa Iemitsu along with several other of the most important buildings in the temple complex. In 1757 and 1865, however, the Kaminari-mon burned down again. The current construction of the Kaminari-mon dates back to 1960.

The lantern and statues of the Kaminari-mon

The eye-catcher of th Kaminari-mon is undoubtedly the huge red lantern in the gateway. Made by a lantern maker from Kyoto, the lantern is inscribed with the Kenji characters for “Thunder Gate.” The lantern is 3.9 meters high, has a diameter of 3.3 meters and weighs an impressive 700 kilograms. Anyone passing under the lantern should not miss a glimpse of the beautiful dragon carvings on the base.

Flanking the lantern are the two statues of the thunder god Raihin (on the left) and the wind god Fūjin (on the right). The two gods are said to protect the Sensō Temple from fire and floods. On the other side of the Kaminari-mon are two more statues representing the gods Tenryu and Kinryu (both with dragon tails).