上野公園

About this photo

This photo shows people walking under the cherry trees of Ueno Park in bloom. It appears in Nihon Fukei Fuzoku Shashincho (Photo Album of Japanese Scenery and Customs), published in 1910, where the English caption describes it as Ueno Park in cherry blossom season.

The hill at Ueno, once the grounds of Kan'eiji temple, was chosen in 1873 (Meiji 6) as one of Japan's first public parks, along with Shiba, Asakusa, Fukagawa and Asukayama. In 1877, the first National Industrial Exhibition was held here, and in 1882 a museum opened along with its attached zoo (today's Ueno Zoo). In 1898, a statue of Saigo Takamori by the sculptor Takamura Koun was also put up.

In 1907, the Tokyo Industrial Exhibition was also held in the park. In 1924 (Taisho 13), the Imperial Household Ministry gave the park to the city of Tokyo, and its official name is Ueno Onshi Koen (Ueno Imperial Gift Park). It is still home to museums, art galleries and the zoo, and in spring it fills with people enjoying the cherry blossoms.

Glossary