Official

"Ginza's Yanagi Nisei,"
This willow is the late Mr. Yasuo Katsumata, the chairman of Ginza Kinharu Street, as a thank you for presenting a copy of the "photo of Ginza", which is said to have been taken by Renjo Shimooka, who was the chairman of Ginza Kinharu Street, and the late Mr. Kazuo Shiiba, who was the chairman of Ginza Gomon Street, was given to Ren Shimojooka City.
April 2006 Shimoda-shi

From here, you can see that there was a human exchange between Chuo-ku and Shimoda City through photos.
So, what kind of person was Renjo Shimooka appearing here?

Nesugata-yama (Nesugayama)

Upon closer examination, the lotus cane was born in Shimoda in 1823, the late Tokugawa shogunate period.
Since Japan's first photo studio was opened, it is called the "ancestor of Japanese Photographers" or "ancestor of Japanese Commercial Photography".
When Harris arrived in Shimoda in 1856 as a U.S. Consul General, he received an explanation of photography from Hugh Sken, a Dutch interpreter who had a camera, and in 1860, In 1860, he received a set of photographic equipment from the American photographer Unshin.
It is clear that he was a very active person and had extraordinary interest and enthusiasm for photography, such as mastering photography after a hard time.

"Ginza's willow II" planted near Ginza Nine.

In that way, it is now widely known as a successful person in photography, but in fact, before encountering photography, I had trained and served in the current Chuo-ku!
When he was 13 years old, he came out to Edo with the aim of becoming a painter.
However, he relies on a liquor store called "Kagaya" at 7-chome, Izumo-cho (currently Ginza 8-chome) in the gunpowder, and is serving as a special service at a large long-established tabi wholesaler in Nihonbashi Yokoyama-cho.

He returned to Shimoda with his spare time and studied artillery, but he did not give up his artist's dream and continued to paint.
Later, he went to Edo again and became a disciple of Kano Togawa, one of the Kano Yotsuya, who succeeded the family of the Hamacho Kano family.
The lotus cane, who was recognized for his talent in painting, has been ordered to do important things.
One day, I was impressed by the elaborateness of the silver plate photography that I met at Satsuma domain Shimoyashiki in Edo, and awakened to master photography techniques.

The fact that a person who left a name in the history of photography in Japan was related to this Chuo-ku was a new learning thanks to the relationship between Ginza's willows.
There are many reasons why Ginza willows are given, but each has deep episodes.
It has Nihonbashi, the starting point of Gokaido, and since it is a place where many people from all over Japan gather from the Edo period to the present day, there is a connection with various places.
We value such a connection and once again pay tribute to the efforts of those who donated willows in Ginza.

We also got information that many willows in Ginza are planted near Izu-Atagawa Station in Shizuoka Prefecture, and went to the site.
I actually searched around the station, but only one willow extending diagonally along the river.

Unfortunately, there were no information boards, etc., and unfortunately it was not clear whether this was a willow in Ginza, but I would like to continue to unravel the history of Chuo-ku using the willows in Ginza that connects Chuo-ku and various parts of Japan as clues.

[Third Excursion Series] Follow the roots of Ginza...
[4th Excursion Series] The edge of Ginza's Yanagi Nisei's in Ginza
[The 11th Excursion Series] What is the charm of the friendship city of Higashine?
[The 17th Excursion Series] Visit Higashine City in summer! The willow in Ginza now...
Let's have fun at home this year! "Yanagi"—a symbol of Ginza spreading all over the country
[The 27th Excursion Series] Ginza's willow ~ The edge connected by Takuboku Ishikawa~
"Ginza Willow" Growth Diary ~ Spring 2021 ~
[The 32nd Excursion Series] It was also in Kyoto! Willow in Ginza
[The 34th Excursion Series] Yanagi Sansei in Ginza growing near the zoo

The history of the resurrection of Ginza's willows in the NPO Tokyo Chuo Net
https://www.tokyochuo.net/news/press/past_data/kiji2003/07_28/04.html (viewed on April 13, 2022)
The Nippon Camera Foundation, “The Second Renjo Shimooka, Part 1 of Photographers from Meiji late Tokugawa shogunate”
http://www.jcii-camera.or.jp/business/pdf/photographer_biographies02.pdf (viewed on April 13, 2022)
Renjo Shimooka, the founder of the Japanese Photographer, Shimoda City
https://www.city.shimoda.shizuoka.jp/category/100400shimodanorekishi/110779.html (viewed on April 13, 2022)
Shimoda City Ropeway Co., Ltd. "-The founder of commercial photography in Shimoda-Renjo Shimooka (1823-1914)"
http://www.ropeway.co.jp/renjou/renjou.htm (viewed on April 13, 2022)
Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography "History of Early Photography in Japan Kanto Edition"
https://topmuseum.jp/contents/exhibition/index-3453.html (viewed on April 13, 2022)