Official
Statue of "Father" @ Chuo-ku
Eiichi Shibusawa was the main character of NHK Taiga drama series's "Batch the Blue Sky" this year (2021), and was adopted as a portrait of a new 10,000 yen bill (issued in the first half of 2024), which began printing on September 1. It 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 Postal Mail" Maejima
Mitsu Maejima (Hideka Maejima, 1835-1919)
Location: Nihonbashi Post Office 1-18-1 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Modern Japanese postal mail using post and stamps began in 1871 (Meiji 4) between Tokyo and Osaka. A bust of Maejima Mitsuru, one of the main founders of the new system, called "Father of Modern Postal Mail," is set up in front of Nihonbashi Post Office. In this area, when the modern postal system was launched, Ekiji (later the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, now the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications) and the postal office in Tokyo (currently the Central Post Office) were set up.
It may be fun to compare the bust with the portrait of a 1-yen stamp.
In April this year, a new 1-yen stamp of Japan Post's Yuru character "Pasuma" was released, but Maejima Mitsu's 1-yen stamp, which has been popular for 70 years, has been sold (as of October 1, 2021).
"Father of the subway" statue of Tokuji Hayakawa
Tokuji Hayakawa (Hayakawa Noritsugu, 1881-1942)
Location: 4-1-2 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Metro Ginza Station
A bust of Tokuji Hayakawa called the "Father of the Subway" recently featured on the Chuo-ku Tourism Association correspondent blog. It is located in the Tokyo Metro Ginza Station area (near the entrances B7 and B8 underground concourses). According to the explanation board placed next to the statue, Tokyo Subway Co., Ltd. was founded and opened Asia's first subway (2.2 km between Asakusa and Ueno) on December 30, 1927 (Showa 2) (after that, extended to Ginza and Shimbashi).
By the way, Fumio Asakura, the creator of the statue of Tokuji Hayakawa, is a sculptor called "Rodan of the Orient", and his representative work is "Tomb Mamoru", which is said to be the best masterpiece. Shigenobu Okuma on Waseda University's Waseda Campus and Michio Ota in the Tokyo International Forum are also his works.
Photo: Michio Ota in the Tokyo International Forum (3-5-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)