Senso-ji Temple, also known as Asakusa Kannon, is said to be the oldest temple in Tokyo and is located in Taito City.

According to temple records, it was built in the year 628. Asakusa was already open to visitors and was a pilgrimage site at this time in history. In 1603, when the shogunate was established in Edo (Tokyo), the Asakusa area was a religious and entertainment center. It was the liveliest section of Edo.

After the Edo Era Asakusa developed as a place to enjoy the theater, and “Asakusa Rokku” was once synonymous with movies.

If Asakusa is referred to when talking about the history of Taito City, we must also not forget Ueno. These two areas were lively from the 17^th century onward.

In 1625, Kan’ei-ji Temple was built on the top of a hill in Ueno by the shogunate as a protection measure. The Kan’ei-ji Temple of the Edo Era was a special entity that dominated the world of Buddhism in Japan, due to the protective hands of the shogunate. When the grave of a Tokugawa shogun was built on the grounds, the authority of Kan’ei-ji Temple was raised to an even higher level. The area within the temple grounds was famous as the best spot in Edo for viewing cherry blossoms, and visitors flocked to the temple as well as to Shinobazu Pond for a leisurely stroll.

The form of government in Japan changed in 1868, and Edo began a new era as the nation’s capital, Tokyo.

In 1873, the Ueno hills became the first public park in Japan. Most of the original temple grounds, except the 300,000 tsubo (about 99,000 square meters) where the temple is currently located, were opened to the general public as a park. The park was to become the site of several International Expos. The facilities later became museums, art museums and a zoo, making Ueno the center of social education and culture.

Due to restoration efforts after World War II, on March 15, 1947, Taito City began a new era. Today it is developing as a subcenter befitting greater Metropolitan Tokyo.