The area
The heart of the old low city
Shitamachi
Edo was split between the samurai on the hills and the merchants and craftspeople in the low ground by the river. Asakusa was the heart of that low city, the shitamachi.
A temple town
Senso-ji drew pilgrims for centuries, and in the Edo period the streets around it became the city’s entertainment district, with theatres, stalls and teahouses.
Kaminarimon
The gate is guarded by the gods of wind and thunder. The present gate dates from 1960, rebuilt with a gift from Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of Panasonic.
The kitchen street
Kitchenware wholesalers gathered in Kappabashi in the early twentieth century to supply Tokyo’s restaurants, and the street still sells to chefs as well as visitors.
