The visit to the warden and the joys of the water business--December, 1971

The visit to the warden and the joys of the water business--December, 1971

In 1971, Tokyo, especially in the Asakusa area, still retained a strong sense of urban melancholy after the chaos of the postwar period and the dense humanity of the downtown area. People's religious beliefs were also simple and closely connected to their daily lives rather than following a system or doctrine, and for the water merchants in particular, the gods and Buddha were their last resort. Many people visit the Kannon Hall of Sensoji Temple, but few visit the "Kangan Inari" that stands quietly on the right side of the hall. This Inari has been worshipped by the Yoshiwara, geisha, and actors, who live by the water and the arts.

The names of brothels and geisha are engraved on the stone walls of the temple grounds, and the stone gateway bears the name of chivalrous actor Shinmon Tatsugoro. Tatsugoro was the grand master of Asakusa, and was also a key figure in the establishment of permanent playhouses in Asakusa. The torii was dedicated to him as a thank-you for curing his wife of fox possession. In this way, the shrine was a microcosm of the beliefs and culture of the lower classes of the city.

Although the author is an atheist, he was drawn to this small shrine by the sight of people joining hands with it and began to visit it himself. The author describes how, as a mizu-shobai (a businessman), he has no choice but to cling to the gods in the midst of a life with no guarantee of the future and a darkness that lies just ahead. In Asakusa at night, a man cowering behind a lantern, a street prostitute sitting on a stone step, and the days of one's youth wandering around while gazing at them. These scenes remind us of the accumulation of time in Asakusa.

In 1971, at the end of the period of rapid economic growth, the city was being swept away by the wave of modernization, but the lives of people living on the periphery had not changed much. The activities of those who had fallen through the cracks of government and the system were condensed around these small shrines. For the author, "Gakansama mairi" was neither an escape from reality nor idealism, but an earnest effort to hold on to the spirit of the people in their lives.