Place · Japan
The history of Tokyo
Assembled from 2 dug tiles · 30 sourced records · 645–1987 · last reviewed 17 October 2026
Asakusa grew up around Sensō-ji, a temple traced to a Kannon statue pulled from the Sumida River in 628. Fire has returned again and again — Edo-period blazes, the 1923 earthquake, the 1945 firebombing — and the ground has also carried Japan's first skyscraper and its first dedicated movie theater.
These are the individual spots Strata has dug in Tokyo — not a guide to the town, but a record of what happened on particular ground.
Digs in Tokyo
浅草A historic Tokyo neighborhood around Sensō-ji temple Asakusa
645–1959 Japan's first movie theater
You're standing near the site of the Denkikan, the first dedicated movie theater in Japan. Denkikan
942–1987
Tokyo in layers
645 AD
Sensō-ji Temple traces its founding to 645 AD, when a simple hut was built on this ground to enshrine the recovered Kannon statue. Japan Guide - Sensoji Temple Guide
Komagata-dō
Komagata-dō, a Hall of Guanyin, was established in 942, making it among the oldest dated things recorded near this spot. Wikidata
1181 AD
The oldest reliable written record of the name Asakusa comes from the Azuma Kagami, which notes in 1181 that carpenters from Asakusa in Musashi Province were summoned to help build Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū shrine in Kamakura. Wikipedia — Sensō-ji
Enshō-ji Temple
Enshō-ji, a Buddhist temple in Nishi-Asakusa, traces its founding to 1207. Wikidata
Tokuhon-ji Temple
Tokuhon-ji, another Nishi-Asakusa temple, dates its founding to 1491. Wikidata
1590s
After moving his government to Edo in the 1590s, Ieyasu named Sensō-ji the Tokugawa shogunate's official prayer temple and endowed it with rice, pulling Asakusa into the new capital's orbit. asakusa.gr.jp History
Kaminarimon gate
The Kaminarimon, Senso-ji's great entrance gate, burned repeatedly between 1635 and 1866, with its last fire during the Tahara-cho blaze of December 14, 1866. Japanese Wikipedia: Kaminarimon
1636–1642
Third shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu rebuilt Sensō-ji's main hall after a fire in 1636, only for the temple to burn down again in 1642. asakusa-e.com
1648–1649
Between 1648 and 1649 Tokugawa Iemitsu rebuilt the whole complex — main hall, five-story pagoda, Niō Gate and the Kaminarimon, the Thunder Gate still standing near here today. asakusa-e.com
1650
Banzuiin Chōbei, a famed Edo-period street tough, died in 1650 and is buried at Genkū-ji Temple less than a kilometer from here. Wikidata
1657
The Great Fire of Meireki in 1657 destroyed the original Yoshiwara red-light district, and it was rebuilt a kilometer north of here as New Yoshiwara. Wikipedia — Yoshiwara
1742
A severe windstorm in 1742 collapsed Sensō-ji's five-story pagoda into three pieces; the topmost section fell near Denpo-in's inari shrine and was never rebuilt there. Tokyo Metropolitan Government Cultural Heritage
1801
The philosopher Hosoi Heishū died in 1801 and was buried at Tengaku-in Temple, 409 meters from this spot — one of the oldest named burials recorded close to the ground you're standing on. Wikidata
Genkū-ji Temple
Genkū-ji Temple holds the graves of the surveyor and cartographer Inō Tadataka, who died in 1818, and the painter Tani Bunchō, who died in 1841. Wikidata
Sensō-ji Temple
Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII, a famous kabuki actor, is buried at Sensō-ji Temple following his death in 1854. Wikidata
1854
Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII, one of the most celebrated kabuki actors of his generation, died in 1854 at age 32 and is buried at Sensō-ji Temple, 111 meters from this spot. Wikidata
1865
A major fire in 1865 destroyed the Kaminarimon gate's original guardian statues; only their heads survived, later restored in 1960. Wikipedia — Kaminarimon
Kamiya Bar
Kamiya Bar opened in 1880 and is now a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan, a short walk from this spot. Wikidata
Daikokuya Tempura
Daikokuya Tempura has operated near this corner since 1887, one of several Asakusa businesses that trace back to the nineteenth century. Wikidata
Ryōunkaku, Asakusa
The Ryōunkaku, Japan's first Western-style skyscraper, stood a few streets from here until its destruction in the 1923 earthquake. Wikipedia: Ryōunkaku
1890
The Ryōunkaku, a twelve-story Western-style tower and Japan's first skyscraper, opened in 1890 about 224 meters from here, turning Asakusa into a showcase of modern Tokyo. Wikipedia — Ryōunkaku
Denkikan, Asakusa Rokku district
In October 1903 the Denkikan, originally an electricity-themed entertainment hall, was converted by Yoshizawa Shōten into Japan's first dedicated movie theater. Wikipedia: Denkikan
Denkikan theater
Saburo Somei, a celebrated benshi narrator, performed live at the Denkikan, chanting explanations of silent films in traditional cadenced verse. Wikipedia: Denkikan
15 August 1918
On the night of 15 August 1918, a crowd of five to six thousand people gathered in Asakusa during the nationwide rice riots, throwing stones at a police box and a local shop. Wikipedia (Japanese) — Asakusa
Questions about Tokyo
What is Asakusa known for historically?
Asakusa is known as the neighborhood that grew up around Sensō-ji temple, founded after two fishermen pulled a Kannon statue from the Sumida River in 628. It also housed the Ryōunkaku, Tokyo's first Western-style skyscraper, raised in 1890, and the Denkikan, Japan's first dedicated movie theater, opened in 1903.
What happened at Asakusa in 1923?
The Great Kanto Earthquake devastated Asakusa in 1923, part of a long pattern of fire reshaping the area, following earlier Edo-period blazes such as the 1865 fire that gutted the Kaminarimon gate and destroyed its statues.
What happened at Asakusa in 1945?
US firebombing in 1945 destroyed Sensō-ji temple and much of Asakusa, including the area near the Raimon-dori and Koen-dori intersection, where the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications records 11,190 deaths. The temple was rebuilt through the 1950s.
What was the Denkikan?
The Denkikan was Japan's first theater built solely for showing films, opening in October 1903 in the Asakusa Rokku district after conversion from an electricity-themed sideshow hall, Denyukan, by Yoshizawa Shōten. It screened silent films narrated by benshi performers until closing in 1976, after which the site became a flea market.
What other historic sites are near Sensō-ji?
Nearby ground includes Komagata-dō, a Buddhist hall built in 942, Enshō-ji Temple founded in 1207, and Tokuhon-ji Temple founded in 1491. Sensō-ji itself holds the grave of kabuki star Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII, who died in 1854, while Genkū-ji holds Edo-era painters and scholars.
Is there a long-trading business still in Asakusa?
Kamiya Bar, a registered cultural property, opened in 1880 and stands about 700 feet from the former Denkikan site. Daikokuya Tempura has traded nearby since 1887.