One hundred years ago, Japan was the victim of one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded. It was September 1, 1923. Minutes before twelve noon, an earthquake of magnitude 7.9 was triggered at a point in the Izu archipelago, about 350 kilometers south of Tokyo. The effects of the so-called great Kantō earthquake were soon felt in the capital, accompanied by fiery storms and swirls of fire. In this Dantesque scenario, numerous Tokyoites found refuge in Ueno Park, protected from the flames by a pond. Families arrived loaded with their belongings. In the following days, the statue of Saigō Takamori, the last samurai, a landmark of the site, was covered with posters of missing people.
Emperor Hirohito, after visiting the place and understanding its potential in disaster prevention, decided to turn the park into a territorial concession of the throne to the Tokyo prefecture. From that moment on, in January 1924, it would adopt the name Ueno Oshi Park (Oshi means “imperial gift”). As a result of this recognition, parks were created throughout the city as safe spaces.
Ueno would once again demonstrate its effectiveness as a collective shelter after about 30 years, during the Second World War. Five months before the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on March 9 and 10, 1945, Tokyo fell victim to the most destructive non-nuclear bombing in history. The North American aviation unleashed a rain of incendiary devices on the capital that reduced some 260,000 wood and paper homes to ashes. The number of civilians killed and missing exceeded 100,000.
Once again, families arriving not only from the center, but also from further away, found shelter in Ueno. This sentimental connection is one of the reasons that have made the park the most beloved and most visited in the country. But it accumulates other merits. Like being the first major public park in Japan and hosting its oldest zoo and museum. His story begins, however, with a war…
The year was 1868. The country was immersed in a civil war between the defenders of the government of the shogun (feudal lord) Tokugawa Yoshinobu and those in favor of restoring the power of the emperor (a war that the latter would win, ushering in the Meiji era. ). Both armies faced each other in the Battle of Ueno (which the imperial side also won, led by the aforementioned Saigō Takamori), on July 4, destroying the grounds of a Buddhist temple founded in 1625.
It was called Kan'ei-ji and little remains of it in the current park. Basically a five-story pagoda and Buddhist temple, the Kiyomizu Kannon-Do, inspired by the famous Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto. Inside this temple there is a figure of Kannon, the goddess of compassion and conception, which is why it receives many visits from women and couples eager to have children. The Shinto shrine of Ueno Tōshō-gū also survived, later conveniently rehabilitated, with a spectacular gold and black façade. It honors the memory of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa clan.
After the Battle of Ueno, the land became the property of the city of Tokyo. And in tune with the modernization of the country that the entry into the Meiji era implied, it was decided to convert the space into a large Western-style park. It was inaugurated in 1873. The idea for the conversion came from the Dutch doctor Anthonius Bauduin, whose statue can also be seen in the grounds.
One of the great attractions of the park is the Shinobazu pond, which protected Tokyoites from the flames after the great Kantō earthquake. Despite having undergone several changes in appearance over time, it is a natural water reservoir. It currently has an ovoid shape with a perimeter of about 2 kilometers and is divided into three sections. The largest is the Lotus Pond, so called because in summer its flowers cover the entire surface. Then there is the Boat Pond, where you can rent boats and pedal skates. And thirdly, the Cormorant Pond, where these aquatic birds are the protagonists.
In the center of the Shinobazu, by the way, you can visit the Benten-do temple: an iconic octagonal hall dedicated to Bentaizen, the goddess of wisdom and the arts.
The Cormorant Pond borders the Ueno Zoo. Founded in 1882, it is the dean of Japanese zoos. It occupies an area of 14 hectares and consists of two parts, the east garden and the west garden, connected by a monorail. This park is famous for promoting “panda diplomacy.”
After the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and China, in 1972, the government of Beijing delivered the first giant panda specimens to the zoo, named Kang Kang and Lan Lan. And in 1992, on the 20th anniversary of normalization between both countries, there was an exchange of pandas: one born in Japan was given to China in exchange for another, the female Ling Ling, who immediately became the new star of the enclosure. .
Ueno Park also has several museums. Among them, the oldest in the country: the Tokyo National Museum. Inaugurated in 1872, it is also one of the largest in the world. It houses more than 110,000 pieces – mostly ancient Japanese art but also has an important collection of Asian art from the Silk Road – including around 90 national treasures. Also worth highlighting is the National Museum of Western Art, the only building in Japan designed by Le Corbusier; and the Shitamachi Museum, which recreates traditional life in Old Tokyo (it is currently closed for rehabilitation).
The best time of year to visit Ueno is between late March and early April, during cherry blossom season. There are a thousand of them, who turn their walks into a sea of pink petals. It is a unique spectacle... although visitors will inevitably have to deal with the discomfort of crowds. The park receives more than two million visitors on those dates.
