Nakamise is the most famous shopping street in Asakusa.
The street runs for 250 meters on the main approach to Sensoji Temple and is
lined on both sides with shops selling traditional souvenirs, snacks, and
sweets.
This street is actually on temple property and so it
starts and ends with a temple gate: at the southern end is the outer gate of
Kaminarimon, and at the northern end is the inner gate of Hozomon. Between
these two gates are 89 shops, with 54 shops on the east side, and 35 shops on
the west. “Nakamise” is a traditional name given to shopping streets on the
grounds of temples or shrines, so this is not the only “Nakamise” in Japan, but
it is one of the oldest and most famous.
Asakusa’s Nakamise shopping street is believed to have
got its start sometime between the late 17th and early 18th centuries when
local people in Asakusa were granted permission to open shops on the temple
grounds. In return, the new shopkeepers were expected to perform cleaning
services and keep the temple precincts nice and tidy.
Already at that time,
Sensoji Temple was a popular center of pilgrimage, and so the shopkeepers of
Nakamise could do a great trade providing food and drink to weary pilgrims.
Since that time, the appearance of the street has undergone a number of
changes.
In 1885, the street was modernized and the old shops
replaced by red brick buildings typical of that era. Sadly these buildings were
completely destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. After that the
shops were rebuilt in concrete on two occasions, once after the 1923
earthquake, and then again after the firebombing of World War II. Despite their
modern concrete structures, the shops today have a traditional appearance, and
are brightly decorated with hanging lanterns and green tiled rooftops.
thank you all for stopping by and viewing the post...
xxx
