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Ueno Tourism Association OFFICAIL
Ueno Park and its Surroundings: A Visual History of 100 Years
In 1871, when the word "park" did not yet exist in Japan, a Dutch military surgeon, Dr. Baudouin, proposed to the Meiji government that a park be built, which led to Ueno Park being designated as the first park in Japan.
Since then, Ueno Park has become the birthplace of civilization and enlightenment through numerous expositions and exhibitions, and has continued to serve as a model for what a park should be like to this day. Over those 100 years, the park has faced several crises and experienced many hardships, but our ancestors have overcome them admirably.
Statue of Dr. Baudouin, unveiled on October 5, 1973
Ueno Park, the birthplace of the Meiji Restoration. The background to the birth of Ueno Park – Dajokan no Tsutai and Dr. Baudouin
The park is born
１ 太政官布達 だじょうかんふたつ
The construction of modern Japan began with the Meiji Restoration. It was during this period that the systems and policies of advanced Western countries were adopted and the foundations of modern Japan were laid. Ueno Park was born during this period of construction of a new Japan.
On January 15th, 1873, the government issued a notice to each prefecture regarding the establishment of parks. In other words, "Any place that has been known as a famous historical site since ancient times should be nominated for park designation." This became the famous "Dajokan Proclamation No. 16." Until the Urban Parks Act was enacted in Japan in 1956, this Dajokan Proclamation was the only one that had legal effect regarding parks.
The 16th Seiin Decree, which was issued to the three prefectures, has made these areas crowded with people, and the sites of ancient scenic spots and the remains of famous people have been popular sightseeing spots (such as the Kinryuzan Senso-ji Temple grounds and Toeizan Kan'ei-ji Temple grounds in Tokyo, and the Yasaka Shrine grounds and Arashiyama in Kyoto, but these are either public land or publicly owned land). The areas that previously belonged to the public parks will be areas where everyone can enjoy themselves forever, and should be designated as parks. The prefectures should select the above-mentioned land, investigate the landscape in detail, and submit drawings to the Ministry of Finance. January 15, 1873, Dajokan
Cherry blossom viewing scene of common people in the late Edo period, Hiroshige painting (collection of Tanaka Kotaro)
"Distant view of Shinobazu from Ueno Shimizu" (Collection of Kotaro Tanaka)
In this Dajokan proclamation, "ancient scenic spots" refer to scenic spots or famous places, and "famous sites" refer to historical sites and other places that people have traditionally visited for leisure and enjoyment. It gives examples of the grounds of Sensoji Temple and Kan'eiji Temple, and states that while Sensoji Temple and Gion Shrine in Kyoto are entertainment districts, Ueno and Arashiyama are also scenic spots with outstanding scenery. In other words, it recommends that such places be turned into parks in urban areas where people gather, such as Tokyo and Kyoto.
What is a park? The announcement describes it in one word: "A place of enjoyment for all."
The government's thinking at the time about parks was that "places with beautiful scenery since ancient times, or entertainment districts that attracted many people, and whose land was owned by the government or recognized as such, would be designated as parks that could be enjoyed forever by the people. From that perspective, Ueno Hill was the ideal location for a park.
2 Establishment of a park
On January 16, 1873, the day after the Dajokan proclamation, Tokyo Prefecture submitted five proposed park sites to the Ministry of Finance: the grounds of Kinryuzan Sensoji Temple, Sanenzan Zojoji Temple, Toeizan Kan'eiji Temple, and Tomioka Hachiman Shrine, as well as Asukayama. All four locations except Asukayama were within the grounds of shrines and temples, but due to this proposal, the grounds of Ueno Toeizan Kan'eiji Temple, with only a small portion remaining, were deemed eligible first, and in March of the same year, they were officially designated as park land.
The word "park" was a new word in the early Meiji period. At the time, it was apparently thought of as a public amusement park or amusement park, but if you look at "Tokyo Fuzokushi" (Tokyo Manners and Customs Journal) (by Hiraide Kojiro), published around 1897, it is treated as a park, i.e., an entertainment district. In any case, since they were created in imitation of Western urban parks, some misunderstanding and confusion were inevitable.
Cherry blossom viewing scene with rickshaw riders and parasols (circa 1887)
当時の公園というものはそういうものだったのである。どうしても、日本の公園は設立の趣旨とは違った盛り場化する傾向にあった。たしかに、公園を設置したところは、盛り場となっていった。上野の街も、公園とともに繁栄したものであり、街の繁栄には欠くことの出来ない主要な位置を示めている。しかし、前述した五公園の発生からその後の発展経過を見ていくと、「公園」という聞き慣れない新造語に対する解釈の混乱に巻き込まれ、公園本来の使命達成、つまり、正常な発展をとげた公園は、まず上野公園 以外にはない。とういうことは、それぞれの公園経営当事者が充分な予算をもたなかったためと、また一つには創始期なので止むを得ないとはいえ、公園経営のため、射的、玉突、楊弓、茶庵、見世物等に賃貸してしまったのである。「もしそれ、上野公園にした所でその管理が宮内省（明治十九年より）に移らずに東京府に委ねられていたら浅草、深川、芝の三公園と同様俗悪化の道を辿ったにちがいない」（「世相史から見た公園の歩み」前島康彦著）後にも述べるが、上野公園の場合は、管理者が国の機関だったので、そうそう自由な経営が許されず、そのお蔭で、公園の手本とされるような発展経過をもち、一千万を超える大東京の中にあって広さにおいても、施設、景観、緑地など都市公園として、内外ともに誇りうる上野公園となったのである。
3. The pains of childbirth
During the Inu-Tatsu War, the magnificent and magnificent buildings of the former Kan'ei-ji Temple were reduced to ashes, leaving Ueno Hill a desolate and scorched wasteland. With the Meiji Restoration, the land was confiscated by the state and for a time it was managed by the Accountant, but in February 1869, the ban on entry to the mountain that had been in place since 1867 was lifted, and the area was opened to the general public for sightseeing, and Ueno Hill, which had been left to deteriorate, was gradually regaining its former glory. As mentioned above, in 1873 the entire Ueno Hill area was designated a park, but there were many twists and turns before it was born as a park.
The scene evokes the scene of the teahouse "Shinobazu Pond: How is this Shinobazu?" on the approach to Shinobazu Pond's Bentendo temple around 1873.
The Ueno Hill area had been under the management of Tokyo Prefecture since December 1868. In March 1870, the Ministry of Civil Affairs approached Tokyo Prefecture to cut down the trees within the hills, claiming they wanted to use them for building materials, but the request was rejected and failed. In April of the same year, there was a plan to fill in Shinobazu Pond and turn it into rice paddies, but Yamamoto Fukuichi and Kameya Yuki are said to have mobilized government officials in Iwakura, Kido, and Okubo to thwart the reclamation. The same thing happened again during the Showa era, from just after the end of the war through 1891, when it was thwarted by the Shinobazu Pond Reclamation Opposition Promotion Alliance, led by the Ueno Shosei-kai, the predecessor of the Ueno Tourism Federation. It is thanks to the combined efforts of many predecessors that the natural beauty of Ueno Park was preserved.
Later, in May of the same year, the site of Kan'ei-ji Temple's central hall, near present-day Takenodai, was selected as the site for the construction of a hospital for the University's East Campus. The entire Kan'ei-ji Temple community protested the proposal, but their opposition was rejected and the site was eventually given to the Ministry of Education. At this time, the flames of the Toshogu Shrine began to spread. Following the trend of the era to destroy old things, the plan was to destroy the main hall of the Toshogu Shrine as well. Upon hearing this, Lord Kido was shocked and ordered Kuki Ryuichi to halt the plan. However, by the time Kuki arrived in Ueno, six large trees at the entrance to the mountain had already been felled. Then, in February of the following year, the Ministry of War (Ministry of War) selected the site for an army hospital and army cemetery. The government of the time resorted to various methods to attack the site. This was a time of suffering for Ueno Hill. Here is a true story about the establishment of Ueno Park.
In 1870, the site of Kan'ei-ji Temple's central hall was selected as the site for the University's East Campus hospital, and its management was exclusively handled by Ishiguro Tadanori and Aigan Chian. Around that time, Dr. A.F. Bauduin, a Dutch military surgeon and instructor at the former Shogunate's Nagasaki Medical School, was visiting Tokyo on his way back to Japan. Ishiguro invited him to inspect the Ueno area and boasted about his intentions. However, Bauduin was opposed to the idea of building a hospital there, and immediately petitioned the Daijokan (Grand Council of State) for the creation of a park. The government accepted, and the hospital project was shelved. Ishiguro, outraged that his long-cherished plans had been overturned, pressed him for the reason. Bauduin responded with the utmost effort to explain that such a picturesque, tranquil, and historic location should be turned into a park, following the example of Western cities.
From "Ueno Onshi Park" published by Tokyo City Hall
Statue of Dr. Baudouin
Dr. Baudouin, a first-class military surgeon at Nagasaki Medical School, suggested that areas like Ueno Hill should be turned into parks, following the example of urban areas in developed countries, and the original plan to build a hospital there was overturned. Without this one word from him, Ueno Park would never have been born, and he is truly the creator of the park.
In response to Dr. Baudouin's foresight, I would like to introduce some of the efforts made by the Tokyo Prefectural Government, which was the administrator of Ueno Hill at the time.
The story continues with the anecdote about Dr. Baudouin. The story goes like this: Ueno Hill was chosen as the site for the University Hospital, the Army Hospital, and other facilities. By official Dajokan decree, Ueno Hill was designated a park and was transferred to Tokyo Prefecture. Tokyo Prefecture demanded the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Civil Affairs to quickly hand over the construction site, arguing that building such a structure in a park would violate the intent of the decree and, above all, undermine its function as a park. However, the two ministries were reluctant to back down, insisting that the building plans had already been prepared and that the facility be placed within the park. With the government on the other side, it seems there was a rather heated debate. Okubo Kazuo, the prefectural governor at the time, possessed considerable insight into parks. In fact, he may have understood better than government officials what a park should be. The following passage is the "Ueno Hill Incident" that determined the stance of both ministries.
Originally, the purpose of the park was to roughly follow the patterns of each country, and of course, special attention was paid to the location of the announcement in the streets, and generally, there was no need to set up houses within the park. However, in Ueno, there is not only the Tokugawa family's mausoleum, but also the temples of Jigen Daishi and the pagodas, so it would be difficult to imitate the appearance of each country, and even if it were, it would be gradually positioned accordingly. According to the Ministry of Education of the Ministry of Education, a part of the middle of the garden of the prefecture's temple, which is located in the middle of the temple, is the second child of the second child. As with the previous section of Tono's architecture, there are some inconveniences in terms of the architectural composition of the public, but the three-dimensional construction of the park should definitely be copied from its location.
"The Ueno Yamauchi Incident" is a letter of protest submitted by the Governor of Tokyo to the Seiin (Cabinet) on the first day of the 6th year of the Meiji era, about ten days after the Dajokan proclamation.
The meaning of this protest letter was as follows: When one hears about parks in foreign countries, one realizes that urban parks require particular attention in terms of their structural design (which was called location at the time), but Ueno already has various buildings related to the Tokugawa clan and Kan'ei-ji Temple, and it would be somewhat difficult to avoid placing any Koitsu-ken buildings within the parks, as is the case in foreign countries. Therefore, if these existing temple buildings are considered as part of the park's scenery and are to be preserved, they may be of interest today. If the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Civil Affairs insist on placing only buildings that have already been partially completed within the parks, they should be ones that harmonize with the park's landscape from a scenic perspective at the time. That would be fine... but... This was a truly excellent argument.
After the removal of the water teahouse on the approach to Bentendo in 1881 (painting by Shiba Kokan, Tokyo National Museum)
Partly as a result of these protests to the government, although Ueno Hill was designated a park, it lagged behind the other four parks in terms of boundary setting and management methods. This temporary delay was made up for in the later stages of development, but when Ueno Hill was launched as a park, both the public and private sectors worked hard together, and just as the more difficult the birth, the more precious one's child becomes, Ueno Park has developed into Japan's number one park under the watchful eye of many people.