UENO – Alajournal

Statue of Prince Komatsunomyia Akihito (1846-1903) who helped to opress many of the samurai rebellions. He rose to the rank of general. The statue was made in 1912 and was dedicated to him as the president of Japanese Red Cross Society

Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum – is Japan´s first public art museum which opened in Ueno Park in 1926. This present day modern building was constructed in 1975 and was designed by a Japanese architect Kunio Maekawa (1905-1986)

Kan´ei-ji temple five storied pagoda. Kan´ei ji temple was founded in 1625 and this pagoda was built in 1639. It was donated to the Horyuji Temple by the fifth Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi

Some of the 250 stone lanterns – ishi doro – of the Toshogu Shrine make nice ambience to having a meal from street hawkers in this makeshift park restaurant 🙂 The stone lanterns were originally put here to light the shrine but now we can see that different lights are used

This is one of the oldest buildings in Tokyo. Toshogu Shrine was built in 1672 upon request by Tokugawa Ieyasu in his will. It is dedicated to him as well as the Toshogu Shrine in Nikko where he is buried

Toshogu Shrine. Karamon = Chinese style = large gate with a karahafu gable = type of cusped gable. It was built in 1651. Gold foil which is slightly thicker than gold leaf is used to decorate the doors and the gable. Hand carved flowers and birds ornately decorate the gable, the doors and both sides of the gate. The dragons are carved on the gate pillars that stand on both sides of the Karamon. They are known as Noboriryu and Kudariryu, which means Ascending Dragon and Descending Dragon. The dragons are said to be the works of Hidari Jingoro, a famous sculptor who lived in Edo period. He reputedly carved that extreeeeemely famous nemuri neko = sleeping cat of Nikko Toshogu Shrine

Beautiful bronze lanterns – Toshogu Shrine has 50 of them. They are not used for illumination purposes. They are used for purificaton and sacred fires during religious ceremonies. These lanterns were offerings of the daimyo = feudal lords from all over Japan. The names of the donors are written on the supports of the lanterns. These lanterns alongside with the Toshogu shrine´s main building are designated as National Treasures of Japan

Toshogu Shrine in Ueno Park has 250 stone lanterns, called ishi doro in Japanese. All these lanterns were offered to the shrine by courtiers or daimyo = feudal lords. They were originally installed for lighting purposes. This purpose somehow seems to be forgotten and they became ornaments. They are an extremely popular decoration in Japanese gardens

In 1990 in commemoration of the 45th anniversary of the atomic bomb tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki this monument was built in Toshogu Temple and Hiroshima and Nagasaki flame was lit on 6th August. This flame is kept as a pledge to abolish nuclear weapons and to strive for peace

Kyiomizu Kannon do – Kyiomizu Kannon Temple was established in 1631 by Tenkai Sojo (1536-1643), high Buddhist priest, who was the founder of Kan´ei ji temple. It follows the pattern of the Kyiomizu dera temple in Kyoto. Kosodate Kannon is enshrined here

View from the Kyiomizu Kannon Temple at Bentendo Temple

This interesting road with stalls leads to Benten dó Temple which is interestingly lit in the distance and its hexagonal tower green roof can be seen, too

This is a shinto shrine and it has the shimenawa = sacred rope hung in front of the sacred place. It is used to cordon off the consecrated area as a talisman against evil because according to the shinto belief no evil can pass beyond the line of the shimenawa. The shimenawa consists of two strands of rice straw plaited together, representing positivity and negativity, to which nature owes its existence. It has four zig-zag stripes of white cloth, shide = streamers, hanging down. According to a certain interpretation they represent the hands of the Emperor reaching out for a good crop in the country

Benten dó Temple is dedicated to Benten, also called Benzaiten, goddess of wealth, eloquence, brains, prolongation of human life, victory and keeping off bad luck. It was founded in the 17th by Tenkai who also founder the Kan´ei ji Temple. People coming to Benten dó Temple usually come to pray for good luck, including good luck during exams

Benten dó Temple – backside with hexagonal tower – the original temple was destroyed during World War II and this present day building was constructed in 1958. It is constructed on Shinobazu pond on a man made island – Mizunoya Katsutaka had both the island and the temple made in the early 17th Century. Mizunoya Kacutaka was the lord of the present day Shimodate city, Ibaraki prefecture area to the North of Tokyo

Benten do Temple is on an island. It was originally accessible by boat only until a stone bridge connecting the island to the mainland was built towards the end of 17th Century