It used be a small fishing village, before Tokugawa Shogunate developed this area, but Senso-ji temple is very unique temple since it is built by commoners, not aristocrats like others.
According to the legend, in 7th Century, brothers of fisherman hook up a tiny (5.5cm) statue of Kannnon (goddess of mercy) from Sumida-gawa River. They brought it to their master, Hajino-Manakachi, and he built a small sanctuary (current Komagata-Dou) at the foot of Komagata Bridge to enshrine it.
After some decades, a priest Shokai Shonin had a dream to hide it from public view, and it is hidden for over 1,000 years.
According to the temples record, when the Meiji government deployed anti-buddhism policy, the official has confirmed its existence. Since then, people is only able to see “Omaedachi”(御前立, substitution of the statue), instead of the real one, once in a year (December 13th).
The huge rice straw sandals in the third one are offered by Yamagata prefecture, to ward off evil spirits by making them believe a giant deity who wear them lives here.
