History of Tokyo のアーカイブ

Have you heard of Hattori Hanzo (服部半蔵)?
It is the name of a famous Ninja, who was the guard of the Edo castle of Tokugawa Shogunate.  Maybe you have heard this name as a character.  He appears in several games and manga, such as “Nobunaga’s Ambition (信長の野望)” and “Samurai Warriors (戦国無双)”
Actually, Hattori Hanzo is not a single person.  Hanzo was the popular name of Hattori Masashige (服部正成) and Hattori Masanari (服部正就), father and son.

There is a place-name which was named after Hattori Hanzo in Tokyo.  It is Hanzomon, an area in the west of the Imperial Palace.
Hanzomon (半蔵門) literally means ‘Hanzo’s gate’.  This area is called so because Hattori Hanzo guarded the western gate of the Edo castle, which afterwards became the Imperial Palace.

This gate was burnt down during WW2, and another gate was moved to cover its place.  This new gate is still there, and commons are not allowed to go through.
Maybe you can feel the remnant of Hanzo here.

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Jimbocho (神保町) is a district in the Chiyoda ward, known as Tokyo’s center of used-book stores and publishing houses.

Jinbocho is an old town named after a samurai, Nagaharu Jinbo (神保長治), who lived in the area at the end of the 17th century.
After a large fire destroyed most of the area in 1913, a university professor named Shigeo Iwanami (岩波茂雄) opened a bookstore in Jinbocho.  This eventually grew into today’s  Iwatani Shoten (岩波書店), a famous publishing company.
Over time, the area became popular with university students and intellectuals, and many small bookstores.  There are many cheap restaurants, too.

Not only Japanese books, but many foreign books are sold at Jimbocho.  Sometimes, books that were lost in their mother country are found in Jimbocho!

If you are interested in books and pictures, just walking around this town will give you excitement

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It may be strange to think about new years day when it’s not even Christmas yet.  But not if you are making reservation for Osechi (お節).

Osechi is a traditional Japanese New Year feast. The tradition started in the Heian Period (平安時代, 794-1185).
Osechi is usually put into special boxes called Jubako (重箱), which resemble bento boxes, only more flamboyant. Like bento boxes, jubako are often kept stacked before and after use.

The dishes that make up Osechi each have a special meaning celebrating the New Year.
Some examples are:

Kazunoko (数の子)
Herring roe.  Kazu (数) means “number” and ko (子) means “child”.  It symbolizes a wish to be gifted with numerous children in the coming year.

Kuro-mame (黒豆)
Black soybeans.  Mame (豆, beans) also means “health”, symbolizing a wish for health.

Tazukuri (田作り)
Dried sardines cooked in soy sauce.  The literal meaning of the kanji in tazukuri is “rice field maker”, as the fish were used historically to fertilize rice fields. The symbolism is of an abundant harvest.

The above three are called Iwai-zakana Sanshu (祝い肴三種, three celebrational dishes).  Without these three, the new years feast would not be complete.
Iwai-zakana Sanshu differs by regions.  The above are the Kanto (including Tokyo) style.

Traditionally, Osechi is made in each house, but it can be purchased at department stores, and even on the internet.
At the department stores, for example Mitsukoshi or Takashimaya, you can buy Osechi from famous Ryotei (exclusive restaurants).
The deadline of reservation is around Christmas, or some times the 20th of December.  Some are in a limited quantity so it finishes even earlier!  If you are interested, an early reservation is recommended.

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Higherground Co.,Ltd.
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Have you visited Omotesando Hills in Tokyo?  If so, the architecture designed by Tadao Ando (安藤忠雄) must have caught you eyes.
Before this modern building was built, there was an apartment in this place.  The name of the apartment was Dojunkai Aoyama Apart (同潤会青山アパート), which was an old building completed in 1927.

This apartment is not completely gone.  Did you notice that the eastern edge of Omotesando Hills is not covered with glass?  This part is the reused Dojunkai Aoyama Apart.
The 2nd floor of this rebirthed Dojunkai is used as an art gallery.  It is a small gallery that exhibits modern arts, which goes very well with the stylish city of Omotesando.

Boutiques are of course attractive, but finding other charms of Omotesando is amusing too

Gallery Dojunkai
Location: Omotesando Hills
Website: http://www.gallerydojunkai.com/gallery.htm (Jap)

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Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Museum (東京都庭園美術館) is a museum in Meguro, Tokyo.  There are temporary exhibitions 5-6 times an year, but the main exhibition of this museum is the building and the garden itself.

The building of the museum was built in 1933, as the mansion of Asakanomiya (朝香宮), member of the Imperial family.  The style is Art Deco, which stormed Europe in the 1920s to 30s.
The building was mainly designed by a French designer, and many of the interior accessories are from France and other countries.  Parts of the building were designed by a Japanese architect who belonged to the Imperial Household Ministry, and added some Japanese touch.

Teien (庭園), of Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Museum, means garden.  This fact shows that the garden is the main attraction.
The garden consists of the grass garden, Japanese garden, and Western garden.  Various flowers will amuse you throughout the seasons.  There are outdoor exhibitions, such as carvings, and a tea cermony house too.

Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Museum
Location: Meguro
Website: http://www.teien-art-museum.ne.jp/info/e_index.html (Eng)

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In Kanda, Tokyo, many old, small houses and buildings are preserved.
Matching with the scenery, there are many soba restaurants in Kanda.

Of all, the most famous and oldest must be Yabusoba (藪蕎麦).  It is not known when Yabusoba opened, but it was already a long-established shop in the 1750s, according to some literature.
Officially, the restaurant Kanda Yabusoba (かんだやぶそば), was opened in 1880.  The wooden store, which is still in use today, was built in 1923, after the Great Kanto Earthquake.

The characteristic of Yabusoba, is the thick taste of soba sauce.  Today, we usually dip soba in the sauce for a few seconds, but in the Edo period, people dipped soba just a bit.  The sause of Yabusoba is suitable of the Edo period way of eating soba.

Tasting soba at Kanda, and walking around book stores at Jimbocho, which is nearby, will take you back to the old Japan.

Kanda Yabusoba
Website: http://www.norenkai.net/english/shop/yabusoba/index.html (Eng)

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Okura Museum of Art (大倉集古館), is a museum in Akasaka, right in front of Hotel Okura.  This museum exhibits Japanese and oriental arts, which was collected by Okura Kihachiro (大倉喜八郎), an entrepreneur.  His son, Kishichiro (喜七郎), is the founder of Okura Hotel.

Okura Museum of Art opened in 1917, as the first proprietary museum in Japan.  After the building and some arts were lost in the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, the museum once closed, but reopened in 1928.
In 1997, the original building was rebuilt for the 80th anniversary event.  The building has classic Chinese taste, and has been selected as the natinal cultural heritage.

Okura Museum of Art owns about 2500 arts, and 1000 writings from ancient China.  The arts have a range in drawings, carvings, calligraphies, etc., and includes 3 national treasures.

Exhibitions differ from time to time.  For inforation of what is on now, check out the website

Okura Museum of Art
Location: Akasaka, Tokyo
Website: http://www.shukokan.org/english/index.html (Eng)

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The Imperial Hotel is one of the best known hotels in Japan, once owned by the Imperial family.  It is located near the Imperial Palace, with good access to Ginza station.

The original Imperial Hotel in Tokyo was built in 1890, with wooden structure.  This was replaced to brick-and- concrete-made buildings in 1923.  This building survived the Tokyo Earthquake, which occured few months later from the completion.

The hotel building which exist today was built after WW2.  Some parts of the former building (such as columns) are preserved in the hotel, and the facade and pool were moved to Meiji Mura Museum, a collection of modern buildings in Nagoya.

The Imperial Hotel is known for its detailed services, especially the cleaning service.  Of course they will wash out the stains which were attached during your stay at the hotel, but that is not all.  They are keeping various buttons from all over the world, and they find a button lost from your clothes, they will put on a similar one for you.  Also, they will iron your clothes so that the texture will match your taste.

The cleaning service is only for registered guests, but for those who aren’t spending the night, there are lounges and restaurants, shops, etc. to enjoy.

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Walking a few minutes from Daikanyama station, you will see a beautiful Japanese garden.  The path in the garden will lead you to an old Japanese house, Former Asakura House (旧朝倉家住宅).

This house was built by Asakura Torajiro (朝倉虎治郎), chairman of the metropolitan assembly, in 1919.  It is one of the representitives of the houses built in the modern ages of Japan.
Floors of all rooms are Tatami mats, and there is a tea ceremony room too.

The details of the rooms are very beautiful, from the floor, windows, to the ceiling.  If you are savvy about Japanese architecture, it may be interesting looking for differences between architectures of the Edo period and the modern years.

Former Asakura House (旧朝倉家住宅)
Location: Daikanyama, Tokyo
Open Hours: 10:00-18:00 (-16:30 from Nov. to Feb.)
Website: http://www.city.shibuya.tokyo.jp/est/asakura.html (Jap)

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If you have recently walking around Tokyo, you may have seen little boys and girls (and sometimes their parents) dressed up in beautiful Kimono.  This is for a celebration for children, Shichi-go-san (七五三), held around November 15th.
Shichi-go-san means ’seven-five-three’.  It is called this way because it is a ceremony for 3 and 5 year old girls, and 3 and 7 year old boys, to celebrate their growth and health.  The ages 3, 5 and 7 are consistent with Japanese numerology, which dictates that odd numbers are lucky.

Shichi-go-san is said to have originated in the Heian period (794-1185) among court nobles, to celebrate the passage of their children into middle childhood.
Over time, this tradition passed to the Samurai class.  They added some rite to this celebration.  The rites are:

Kamioki (髪置) - Children were allowed to grow their hair from the age of 3 (up until, children were required by custom to have shaven heads).
Hakamagi (袴着) - Boys of age 5 could wear Hakama (袴, Japanese formal male skirt) for the first time.
Obitoki (帯解) - Girls of age 7 replaced the simple cords they used to tie their Kimono with the traditional Obi (sash).

By the Meiji period (1868-1915), the practice was adopted amongst commoners as well, and included the modern ritual of visiting a Shrine to drive out evil spirits and wish for a long healthy life.

This visit to the Shrine is on November 15th, though this day of visit is not determined so strictly.  This date was chosen because the 15th every month was thought to Kishuku (鬼宿, the day when evil spirits do not come out) in the old calender.  Also, November was the month of thanks giving, to be grateful to the Gods.

If you’ve seen the children holding a long, thin bag, that is Chitoseame (千歳飴), literally ‘millenium candy’.  This candy is made very long, with a wish for the children to enjoy a long life, even 1000 years!  Chitoseame is usually colored white and red (or pink), the 2 colors thought to be auspicious in Japan.

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