Jul 7, 2016 - 1 min read

Kitazawa Hachiman Shrine in Tokyo

Enjoy detail and craftsmanship in Shimo-kitazawa

By Peter Sidell

Community writer

Airborne guardians

The main gate from the street

A wooden lantern by the steps up to the halls

One of the little side shrines

Detailed carvings on a side shrine

A komainu guardian lion

Another little side shrine

Decoration on the main hall

Another of the many miniature side shrines

And a komainu guardian wolf

More intricate detail

The carvings are painstakingly elaborate

Next to Shingan-ji temple a few minutes' walk from the station in Tokyo's trendy Shimokitazawa district, Kitazawa Hachiman is a pleasant hillside shinto shrine. The main hall is attractively decorated, but the main point for me was the numerous miniature side shrines; even though they are small, they are adorned with carvings as intricately detailed as on full-sized buildings, trees and birds, flowers, lions and dragons. There's also a side hall with a beautiful painted screen on display (behind a window which makes it impossible to photograph).

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Peter Sidell

By Peter Sidell

Community writer

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Anonymous 8 years ago

nice pictures!

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Peter Sidell

Peter Sidell Photographer 8 years ago

Thank you!

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