Tokyo's old Heart

Visiting Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy

Asakusa, built around Sensō-ji, an ancient Buddhist templ dedicated to Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy, is an eastern district of Tokyo, located along the Sumida River. It emerged as a hub of entertainment and pleasure in the 1840s, with Geisha houses, Kabuki theater, jugglers, dancers, comic storytellers, bars, restaurants and more. The first movie houses in Japan also appeared in Asakusa, as was Tokyo's first "skyscraper", the Twelve-Story Tower, a 52-meter brick observation tower that was Japan's tallest structure at that time.

Asakusa has been an entertainment district since the Edo period (1603 - 1868), but it particularly flourished from the middle of the Meiji era until just before the war, becoming one of Japan's busiest amusement areas.

Its most exuberant period is often said to have been in the 1910s, after the Russo-Japanese war, when Russian performers added an exotic element to the scene. One of the main attractions was the display of women's legs. Countless entertainers and actors began their careers in Asakusa.

The entire district was almost completely destroyed twice: in the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923 and by American B-29 bombings in 1945. After the war, Sensō-ji was restored, and Asakusa briefly regained some of its former status as an entertainment center for for a short period of time. However, over time, younger generations shifted their attention to new entertainment districts that developed around major railway stations.

I immersed myself deeply in the cultural and social life of this fascinating district, always following the atmosphere of old downtown Tokyo. This photo essay, the result of months of work, looks behind the scenes of Asakusa's comedy theaters and Geisha performances. It captures scenes of the red-light district and includes rare images of one of Japan's most prominent yakuza organizations.