At the end of Nakamise shopping street is the beginning of the sacred area. When you start to head towards the gate you naturally get the feeling of going to meet the Buddha.
Looking directly ahead on both sides of you are two statues who guard against impurities. Some people also pray to these two gods for good health and good fortune.
On the back of the gate are large baskets made of straw. These are amulets or charms. It is said that these large baskets of straw and the two large statue gods scare away demons and bad spirits.
Actually the gate was originally called “Nimon Gate”, which is the name of the street leading up to it. However, the gate burned down in the bombing of Tokyo in World War II. After it was rebuilt, through the financial support of Ookatani Yonetaro--who was the creator of the famous “Hotel New Otani”-- the gate came to be known as “Hozomon” or Treasure House Gate.
Under the big lantern are the Chinese characters meaning small boat town, which refers to another famous area in Tokyo called Nihon-bashi. In the Edo period, Nihonbashi was a fishing village. This is a reference to the fisherman who originally found the Buddha statue. Let's go to the next page.
