Fire-bucket monument

While visiting the traditional areas of Japan, right in front of some shops or restaurants, you may notice small stacks of wooden buckets, carefully placed on large barrels. They originate from the times when the fire was a constant menace in the Japanese cities. Many precautions were taken to prevent the fires and the firemen were requesting the shop owners to keep close a constant provision of water.

Of course, today these buckets are just decorations or in some cases even monuments. The one you can see in today's photo is a monument to honor the firemen, raised at the Asakusa Shrine from Tokyo.