Kita-senju Shutter Art

Shutter art seems to be one of Japan's least appreciated art forms. All around the country it is not uncommon to see murals painted on the closed shutters of various residences and businesses. An art form in its own rights, they tend to picture traditional stories, local themes and totems, or even outlandish pop-culture references. Perhaps one of the most recognized of Tokyo neighborhoods to see shutter art is at the stalls lining Asakusa's Senso-ji Temple.

Yet the Kita-senju neighborhood in Adachi, in north-east Tokyo, really makes shutter art its own. A popular shopping and restaurant street, Shukuba machi-dori​, is endowed with an array of peculiar shutter art. It offers a phenomenal insight to this what is both a sleepy-eyed and vibrant neighborhood.