Yoshiwara Jinja

Tucked between Tokyo’s bustling streets and quiet residential corners sits Yoshiwara Jinja. It’s a Shinto shrine, a place of worship, tucked away in the Senzoku area of Taito City. Yoshiwara Jinja wasn’t always here. It was erected in 1872, merging five Inari shrines. These shrines once guarded the Yoshiwara red-light district. This district was Edo’s, and later Tokyo’s, most extensive legal red-light district. Years later, after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, another shrine joined Yoshiwara Jinja. This was the Yoshiwara Benzaiten Shrine. The current main shrine building, however, is more recent. It dates back to 1968. Yoshiwara Jinja isn’t just a historical landmark. It’s a place of worship, dedicated to two deities: Uga no Mitama no Mikoto and Ichikishima-hime no Mikoto. People visit Yoshiwara Jinja to seek peace and happiness at home. They also pray for business prosperity, financial luck, and improvement in the performing arts. The shrine’s connection to the Yoshiwara red-light district adds another layer to its story. Women who worked in the district believed the shrine’s deities answered their wishes. Today, people still visit, hoping for their own wishes to be fulfilled. You can visit Yoshiwara Jinja yourself. The shrine office is open from 10:00 to 16:00. From the first Sunday to the seventh Sunday of January, the hours are extended to 18:00. Yoshiwara Jinja is open every day of the year.