A woman walked past the main hall of Zojo-ji Temple, looking down

Woman walking in front of the main hall of Zojo-ji Temple — The main hall of Zojo-ji Temple in Shiba

In the same way that Kanei-ji Temple was placed in Ueno, northeast of Edo Castle, to block the demon's gate, where demons are said to gather, Zojo-ji Temple in Shiba was placed to block the back demon's gate, the opposite direction of the demon's gate.

Due to the separation of Shinto and Buddhist religions after the Meiji Restoration, a large part of the precincts of Zojo-ji have been turned into Shiba Park. The area where the Tokyo Prince Hotel and the Shiba High School stand used to be the precincts of the temple, so even though the temple has shrunk, it is probably much better than Kanei-ji Temple in Ueno, which is a shadow of its former self. After passing through the splendid vermilion Sangedatsu-mon gate, I found the huge main hall standing at the end of a gentle staircase, and it seemed to maintain its dignity as one of the seven major head temples of the Jodo sect.

At the end of the year, Zojo-ji was deserted. There were a few visitors, but compared to the huge crowds at New Year's, it was as if there were no visitors at all. The precincts of the temple seemed to embody the calm before the storm, and only the white crest on the temple curtain seemed to be waiting for the coming crowds.

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