Get Sacred Power for Vitality & Physical and Financial Strength －“Marishiten Tokudaiji Temple” along Ameyoko Shopping Street in Ueno

Ameyoko shopping street in Taito-ku, Tokyo lines up about 400 stores such as groceries and clothing. There is a temple called “Marishiten Tokudaiji Temple”(摩利支天 徳大寺) located in the lively shopping street with many people and it has been recently popular as a sacred place. It seems that this temple which was built in the early Edo period is the last temple in Ueno Hirokoji. How about visiting to experience the mysterious power while walking in Ueno?

Uenohirokoji used to be an area that flourished as a town of temples and shrines, and now, the temple in this area is only Tokudaiji Temple due to the Great Kanto Earthquake, war and post-war development. This temple is known as one of the 3 Marisiten in Japan, along with  Zenkyoan, Kyoto Prefecture and Hosenji Temple, Ishikawa Prefecture. Marisiten has enshrined a god of vitality, physical fitness and financial power, famous as a guardian deity protecting from all disaster. As a result, the deity was deeply worshiped by former military commanders such as Ashikaga Takauji and Tokugawa Ieyasu, and it is said that they went to war with flags and statues of Marishiten. Even now, visiting this temple is believed to bring good luck, remove misfortune, invite good fortune, and bring good fortune, and it is widely popular as ‘Ueno Hirokoji’s Marishiten-sama’. In addition, this temple designates a day called Ennichi (縁日, festival day), which you connect with gods and buddha, as the boar day of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals from the appearance of Marishiten standing on the back of a wild boar. There will be 31 days in total in 2023. It is said that visiting the temple on Ennichi can bring special benefits, so it is recommended to visit Ueno during these days.