Pix4Japan: Tokudaiji Temple

2026-01-02

Tokudaiji Temple

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Location: Ameya-Yokocho, Taito Ward, Tokyo
Timestamp: 2026/01/02・12:58
Fujifilm X100V with 5% diffusion filter
23 mm ISO 160 for 1/125 sec. at ƒ/2.8
Classic Negative film simulation

New Year Prayers at Marishiten Tokudai-ji, Tokyo
上野・摩利支天徳大寺で祈る新年のひととき

Located in the heart of Ueno’s Ameya-Yokocho shopping district in Tokyo’s Taitō Ward, Marishiten Tokudai-ji Temple (摩利支天徳大寺) is dedicated to the Buddhist goddess Marishiten (摩利支天).

In Japan, Marishiten came to be revered as a guardian deity of the samurai. During the Edo period, she was also worshipped by the merchant class as a goddess of wealth, prosperity, and protection.

Although the exact date of Tokudai-ji’s founding is unknown, the temple appears in the Complete Map of Edo (寛永江戸全図; Kan’ei Edo Zenzu) from 1642. This places its establishment sometime during the Kan’ei era (February 1624–December 1644).

A statue of Marishiten was enshrined at the temple in 1708, after which Tokudai-ji gained popularity among both samurai and merchants in Edo (modern-day Tokyo).

The temple’s original buildings were destroyed by fires following the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923 and later during the firebombing of Tokyo in 1945. Remarkably, the statue of Marishiten survived both disasters. As a result, many devotees today also pray to the goddess for protection against calamities. The current temple structure dates to 1964.

During my visit, I was somewhat surprised to encounter a life-size marble statue of a boar, its back polished smooth by the hands of visitors rubbing it for good fortune. Marishiten is often depicted in a fierce, warrior-like form, holding weapons while standing or seated atop a boar, or riding in a chariot drawn by seven boars.

The wild boar is traditionally associated with strength and resilience. According to a nearby plaque, rubbing the statue is believed to bestow spiritual and physical strength, as well as financial prosperity.

In this photograph, banners and vertical signboards announce the temple’s New Year Grand Festival Prayer Meeting, held on a reservation basis. Framed by vermilion railings and lanterns, visitors move steadily up the stone steps with some already returning to the flow of Ameya-Yokocho. The temple grounds offered a brief moment of calm and intention tucked inside one of Tokyo’s most energetic shopping streets before I continued my photowalk into the surrounding market.

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