Komainu Standing Guard at the Asakusa Shrine, at Asakusa, Japan

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Asakusa Shrine (浅草神社), also known as Sanja-sama ("Shrine of the Three gods"), is one of the most famous Shinto shrines in Tokyo, Japan. Located in Asakusa, the shrine honors the three men who founded the Sensō-ji. It is located on the east side of Senso-ji. The shrine is also one of the few rare buildings in the area to have survived the Tokyo air raids of 1945. Despite so, it is often often overlooked by visitors who will visit the better known and more visible Senso-ji. The photo features one half of the komainu standing guard outside the Shrine. Komainu are statue pairs of lion-like creatures either guarding the entrance or the inner shrine of many Japanese Shinto shrines or kept inside the inner shrine itself, where they are not visible to the public.

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Size: 4752px × 3168px
Location: 2-26-1, Asakusa, Taitō-kuTokyo 111-0032, Japan
Photo credit: © Moonie's World / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: asakusa, creature, culture, gods, japan, japanese, komainu, lion-dogs, mythical, people, sanja-sama, shinto, shintoism, shrine, statue, tokyo, wop, 台東区, 日本, 東京, 浅草, 浅草神社, 狛犬, 胡麻犬