Hanazono Shrine

Exit E2 of Shinjuku-sanchome Station opens almost onto the gate. The steel torii out front went up in 1996, and behind it is a concrete hall from 1965, the latest of many rebuildings after fires. The shrine dates from before Tokugawa Ieyasu arrived in 1590, brought here, it says, from Yoshino in Yamato. In the Kan'ei era it stood about 250 meters south, near today's Isetan, and moved to a corner of the Owari lords' garden, full of flowers, which gave it the name Hanazono. After fires in 1780 and 1811 the shrine paid for rebuilding by putting on plays and shows in its grounds, and the link to theater stuck: Kara Juro staged his tent plays here, and the small Geino Asama shrine gets offerings from performers. Look for the bronze lion-dogs cast in 1821 by Murata Seimin, and the row of red torii at Itoku Inari. On Sundays an antique market runs from sunrise to sunset. In November the Tori-no-ichi fills the grounds with stalls selling decorated bamboo rakes, and getting through is slow. Golden Gai starts at the back fence.