A masked Shinto priest was sweeping the approach to Hanazono Inari Shrine with a bamboo broom

Priest sweeping the approach to Hanazono Inari Shrine with a broom — Shinto priest sweeping with a broom

In a part of Ueno Park, there is a place where Shinto shrines are crowded together. Since Ueno Park used to be the precincts of a temple called Kanei-ji, I thought that the shrines there were built as Shinto shrines to protect Buddhist temples. But in fact, that was not the case. Most of the shrines are older than Kanei-ji Temple and were swallowed into the temple grounds after the temple was built in the Edo period.

As I walked along the approach with the torii gate beside the Insho-tei, I arrived at a dense area of them. Four shrines, Gojoten Shrine, Hanazono Inari Shrine, Shinobugaoka Inari Shrine, and Shichifuku Shrine, stand in the not-so-wide precincts. Three of these shrines are older than Kanei-ji, except for Shichifuku Shrine, which was built in the Edo period.

When Kanei-ji Temple was built, the shrines were swallowed up by its precincts, but after the Meiji Restoration, most of the precincts were transformed into museums and parks, but they survived, and these shrines still stand in the same place. The precincts of these shrines, located just off Sakura-dori Avenue, have a peaceful atmosphere that gives the impression of a relaxed atmosphere, but underneath their calm masks, they seem to hide a side of themselves that reads the trends of the times with seriousness.

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