Long ago, about 628 CE, two brothers fishing in the Sumida River netted a tiny golden statue of Kanzeon, or Kannon, the bodhisattva of mercy. Some versions of this story say the brothers put the statue back into the river, only to net it again.
Sensoji was built in honor of the bodhisattva, and the tiny golden statue still is kept there, although the public is not allowed to see it. The original temple was completed in 645, which makes it Tokyo's oldest temple.
In 1945, during World War II, bombs dropped from American B-29s destroyed much of Tokyo, including Sensoji. The present structure was built after the war with donations from the Japanese people. On the temple grounds there is a tree growing from the remains of a tree hit by a bomb. The tree is cherished as a symbol of the undying spirit of Sensoji.