Near Sarue Onshi park and Sumiyoshi station in the eastern part of central Tokyo, Sarue-jinja is a small but appealing Shinto shrine. It's a mix of old and new: the main hall looks like it's of recent construction, but around the side there are some older objects that show just how long the shrine has been here: ancient stone miniature shrines and statues of guardian dogs, covered by lichens or weathered, worn and damaged with age.
- 1 min read
Sarue-jinja Shrine
An intimate, ancient shrine in eastern Tokyo
By Peter Sidell
Community writer
A picture of a monkey, saru in Japanese
New Year's decoration on the hall
A lantern by the hall
One of the guardian lions
The area by the side of the hall has some older things
Ancient komainu guardian wolf-dogs
The main hall
A lantern by the hall
Guarding the side shrine
Purify your hands here
Another pack of komainu
The lichens and damage show just how old these are
A little side shrine
The main gate from the street
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