Page 123 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Japan

Capturing the blush-pink cherry blossom in Ueno Park

NORTHERN TOKYO

The northern districts of Ueno and Asakusa
contain what remains of Tokyo’s old Shitamachi
(low city). Once the heart and soul of culture in
Edo, Shitamachi became the subject of countless
ukiyo-e woodblock prints. Merchants and artisans
thrived here, as did Kabuki theater. As a consequence
of this liberal atmosphere, the Yoshiwara red-light
district moved to near Asakusa in the 17th century
after the Great Fire of Meireki in 1657. By 1893,
there were over 9,000 women living and working
in this raucous area.
One of the last great battles in Japan took
place in Ueno in 1868 when Emperor Meiji’s forces
defeated the Tokugawa shogunate. In 1872, Dr
Anthonius Baudin, a Dutch miliary doctor, observed
the area’s natural beauty and petitioned for it to
be turned into a park, rather than the proposed
army hospital and cemetery. In 1876, Ueno Park
was registed as Japan’s oldest park. The park
became a haven for art and thought, hosting the
first and second National Industrial Exhibitions in
1887 and 1881 respectively, and becoming home
to the Tokyo National Museum in 1882.
123

122-123_EW_Japan.indd 123 04/02/2019 14:54