Official

This time, it is like a small figure on the right end.

It is a bronze statue that once stood on the opposite bank of the Tsukiji River, which used to flow beside Shimbashi Enbujo. It's around the hospital of the current Tsukiji National Cancer Center.

This is a postcard when the Majesty visited Tsukiji Hospital in the reconstruction of the Imperial City Earthquake in 1930. Although this statue is not in Tsukiji now, it has been relocated to Inawashiro in Fukushima Prefecture, so I went to see it at the time of autumn leaves in November.

Tsukiji has been the place where naval facilities were located since the Meiji era. After the Great Kanto Earthquake, the fish market moved from Nihonbashi to Tsukiji, and the naval facilities gradually disappeared, but this statue, built before the earthquake, was left. Who is the bronze statue of Takehito Arisugawa, who was active in the Meiji era.

The light expression "handsomen" may not be appropriate, but it's handsome.

King Weijin was ordered by the Emperor Meiji to become a naval officer, and studied abroad at U.K., which was a model for the Japanese Navy at that time.

On the other hand, he served as an education officer when Emperor Taisho was Crown Prince, and his confidence from Emperor Meiji was enormous.

He loved the land of Inawashiro overlooking the lake and Mount Bandai. You can build a separate house here. "Tenkyokaku" is now an important cultural property.

　Tenkyokaku homepage ⇒ Click here

When I actually went to Inawashiro, I felt that it was a perfect place for recuperation and recuperation because it was a place where time flows slowly.

He also seemed to be interested in new things, and in the early days of Japanese cars, he also held Japan's first drive tour. There is also a stone monument at Yaho Tenman-gu Shrine in Kunitachi City, which was the destination.

　Japan's first drive tour ⇒ Click here

He was such a royal prince, but died in 1913 (Daisho 2). After that, in honor of his achievements, there was a call for the construction of a statue.

The plan is being promoted with "Heihachiro Togo", famous for the Battle of the Sea of Japan in the Russo-Japanese War, as the representative, and the site of the Navy Reference Hall in Tsukiji was selected. This statue was completed in 1921 (Daisho 10).

It was located in Tsukiji for a long time, but after the war, based on the idea of His Imperial Highness Prince Nobuhito Takamatsunomiya, it was relocated to Tenkyokaku Garden, a land related to Prince Weijin in 1984 (Showa 59). .

There is no longer a statue relocated to Tenkyokaku, but the pedestal of the statue was designed by Dr. Chuta Ito, famous for the building of Tsukiji Honganji Temple in Chuo-ku. As you can see from the picture postcard of the statue in front of Tsukiji Hospital earlier, it is a fairly fine pedestal.

If you look closely, you can see that something like komainu is in the four corners of the pedestal.

This has been relocated to Togo-jinja Shrine along Takeshita Street in Harajuku, so I went to see it during the autumn leaves season in November.

Togo-jinja Shrine is a shrine dedicated to the life of Togo Heihachiro.

Of course, there was komainu, but all four of the komainu in the four corners of the bronze statue pedestal were enshrined in the form of a lion.

This lion statue has a rather unique shape. I don't know exactly what it was in the four corners of the statue pedestal, but it was like a robot dog designed by advanced technology, and I was able to see it for a while in the autumn leaves.

I am very grateful that what used to be in Tsukiji has been left in such a different form.

The Arisugawa Miya family was cut off by King Weijin, but there is a school of Japanese calligraphy called "Arisugawa-ryu". The Arisugawa Miya family was a family member who served as a teacher of Japanese calligraphy.

The "Arisugawa-style calligraphy" was developed by Prince Arisugawa Miyanobori, the father of Prince Weijin. For the cousin of Yoshinobu Tokugawa, the original copy of the five-piece oath at the time of the Meiji Restoration was written by Prince Nobori.

Speaking of Chuo-ku, the letters written on the flats listed on the torii gate of Sumiyoshi-jinja Shirine in Tsukuda are written by Prince Nobori. It is rare that it is made of pottery, but the fact that the character is written by Prince Nobori, indicating that it is a very valuable cultural property.

It was produced in 1882, five years after Satsuma Rebellion, and is now designated as Tangible Cultural Property in Chuo-ku.

This shrine is located in the unique atmosphere of Tsukuda. The autumn leaves in the precincts were also progressing, but the yellow leaves of ginkgo were looking forward to the future.

By the way, in Tokyo, there is "Arisugawanomiya Memorial Park" near Hiro Station, but it was originally the place where Goyochi of King Weinin.

This park currently has a bronze statue of Prince Nobori and Prince Arisugawa, the older brother of Prince Wein, Prince Taruhito.

He was famous for being a former fiancee of Wamiya, who married Shogun Ieshige Tokugawa, and was active as a new government army in Boshin war and as an army soldier since the Meiji era.

The park is very quiet, you can go around the garden, and the autumn leaves are beautiful. I was able to spend a relaxing time.

That's why I went around the autumn leaves this year under the theme of "Arisugawa-gu", but I feel that it was more colorful than usual.

In Tokyo, the yellow leaves of ginkgo will peak, gradually shift to the season when the cold sinks, and we will head toward Christmas and the end of the year.

<Information referenced>

★Tenkyokaku website
★Tenkyokaku Guidebook (purchased at Tenkyokaku)
★Togo-jinja Shrine homepage (why?) Mr. Togo）
★Yaho Tenmangu Shrine website
★Chuo-ku homepage (Pottery Sumiyoshi-jinja Shirine flat)
★Minato-ku Park Homepage (Arisugawanomiya Memorial Park)
★Wikipedia
　Prince Takahito Arisugawa Miyanobori
　Prince Naruhito Arisugawa
　Prince Takehito Arisugawa

<Interview date>
Inawashiro, November 5, 2022
Harajuku, Azabu, Chuo-ku, 2022/11/19
Kunitachi City November 29, 2022