Welcome to My Village of Tokyo

The Asakusa district of east Tokyo, where I took all but one of these images, is a thriving sightseeing hub attracting primarily Chinese and other Asian visitors. But tourism here is not new. The area and its massive temple, Sensoji, has been the backdrop for the sometimes peculiar proclivities of people since around the seventh century. Then, as legend has it, a Goddess of Mercy statue was miraculously pulled twice from the River Sumida (it was thrown back the first time) and subsequently enshrined, drawing pilgrims from everywhere. Of course this also attracted a host of peripheral activities, including eating and drinking stalls, streetwalkers, the homeless, pleasure rides, and people playing dress-ups, to name a few. What I find interesting is how this loose cast of characters manages to express a sense of community, how even when floating in their own worlds, locals and visitors seem to belong.