Niten-mon gate of Sensō-ji temple, Tokyo

 There is Niten-mon gate at Sensō-ji temple, Taitō ward, Tōkyō. If you look at the front side of the main hall, the gate is on the right.

 I think Kaminari-mon gate is very famous, so lots of people visit it, and they are always taking commemorative photos. I am thinking that I want to write an article about this gate, but it is not easy to take any photos. On the other hand, there are few people around Niten-mon gate, and there are no people taking commemorative photos, so it is easy to see.

 I researched about the gate from a book, on the official homepage, and from the sign in front of the gate. There were some differences in their content, so I am not sure when the gate was built. It seems that this gate was originally called Zuishin-mon gate, because the wooden statues called Zuishin-zō were enshrined on the left and right. It is thought that it was built around 1618 as Zuishin-mon gate of Tōshōgū shrine in Sensoji Temple.

 It seems that the shrine was burned down twice after that, but I'm not sure if this gate survived those fires. According to the official homepage, the current gate was built in 1649. If that is ture, it was not burned down during World War II, but I am not sure, if that is correct.

 There is the stone object called chōzu-bach in front of the gate. This is a basin for cleaning your hands before visiting shrines or temples. Chinese characters are engraved on the side. I will omit the details; the characters say “It was donated in 1777”.

 It is also carved with “In front of Zuishin-mon gate”. The material compiled in 1813 also has written "Outside of back gate". From these things, it turns out that it has remained here to this day without changing location. Many people in the Edo period (1603 ~ 1868) would have cleansed their hands and worshiped here.

 In 1884, the wooden statues called Zuishin-zō enshrined at the gate were changed to the wooden statues called Niten- zō, due to the edicts ordering the separation of Shintō and Buddhism (shinbutsu bunri) in early Meiji era. At this time, the name was changed from Zuishin-mon gate to Niten-mon gate.

 There are the Chinese characters as “Niten-mon(二天門)” at center of the gate now. This was written by Sanjō Sanetomi (1837 ~ 1891) in 1883. He was Grand Minister of State (Dajō Daijin). During this year, the name was changed from Zuishin-mon gate to Niten-mon gate.

 The above is from the official homepage, but the year when the name of the gate changed in some sources is 1883 and in other sources is 1884, and it is not clear which one correct is. Anyway, these are stories from the Meiji era (1868 ~ 1912).

 I was very interested in the wooden statues of this gate. The original wooden statues were burned down in 1945. In 1957, the current wooden statues were moved from the mausoleum of the fourth Tokugawa Shōgun Ietsuna (1641 ~ 1680) in Kanei-ji temple. I think that it is amazing. Normally, we cannot go to see in the mausoleum, but now, we can see the wooden statues that were there.

 If you ever go to Sensō-ji temple, I recommend you to see this gate and the wooden statues too.