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Statue of "Father" @ Chuo-ku
Eiichi Shibusawa was the main character of NHK Taiga drama series's "But the Blue Sky" this year (2021) and was adopted for the portrait of a new 10,000 yen bill (issued in the first half of 2024), which began printing on September 1. He is called "the father of Japanese capitalism." Inspired by the statue of Eiichi Shibusawa installed at Tokiwa Bridge Park in Chiyoda-ku, I visited the statue of "Father" in Chuo-ku.
"Father of Modern Post" Maejima Mitsuzo
Maejima Mitsumi (Hisoka Maejima, 1835-1919)
Location: Nihonbashi Post Office 1-18-1 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Modern Japanese postal mail using posts and stamps began in 1871 (Meiji 4). A bust of Maejimamitsu, one of the main founders of the new system, called the "father of modern mail," is set up in front of Nihonbashi Post Office. In this area, when the modern postal system was launched, Ekishi (later the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, now the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications) and postal offices in Tokyo (currently the Central Post Office) were set up.
It may be interesting to compare a bust with a 1-yen stamp portrait.
In April this year, a new 1-yen stamp for Japan Post's loose character "Pusukuma" was released, but sales of Maejimamitsu's 1-yen stamp, which has been popular for 70 years, are also continuing (as of October 1, 2021).
"Father of the Subway" statue of Tokuji Hayakawa
Tokuji Hayakawa (Noritsugu, 1881-1942)
Location: Tokyo Metro Ginza Station 4-1-2 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
A bust of Tokuji Hayakawa, which is called the "father of the subway" recently featured on the Chuo-ku Tourism Association correspondent blog. It is installed in the Ginza Station area of Tokyo Metro (near entrances B7 and B8 underground concourses). According to the explanation board placed next to the statue, Tokyo Metro Expressway Co., Ltd. was established and opened the first subway in Asia (2.2 km between Asakusa and Ueno) on December 30, 1927 (Showa 2) (afterwards, Ginza and Shimbashi).
By the way, Fumio Asakura, the creator of the statue of Tokuji Hayakawa, is a sculptor called "Rodin of the East", and his representative work is "Tombmori", which is said to be the best masterpiece. The statue of Shigenobu Okuma at Waseda University Waseda Campus and the statue of Michio Ota at the Tokyo International Forum are also his works.
Photo: Statue of Michio Ota in the Tokyo International Forum (3-5-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)