“Tokyo Review 042” Ueno area-5
Civilization and Enlightenment of Japan and Ueno Area
The Meiji era was an era for “Civilization and Enlightenment of Japan”, when Japanese people eagerly imported various technologies and cultures from around the world. Ueno was frequently a venue of expositions. During the third “Japan Industrial Expo” in 1890, the first electric train in Japan operated in the venue. In the “Tokyo Taisho Industrial Expo” in 1914, a water slide and Japan’s first escalator were set up in Shinobazu Pond, which became a topic.
In terms of culture and art, there was a growing momentum to learn from foreign countries and cultivate Japanese unique creativity. The “Education Museum” opened in 1877, “the Museum”, the predecessor of the Tokyo National Museum moved here from Uchisaiwai-cho in 1882. In 1887, Tokyo Art School, the predecessor of the University of Arts, was established by Tenshin Okakura and produced artists who represent Japanese art such as Taikan Yokoyama. Over the years, the Imperial Library, the National Science Museum, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, the Ueno Royal Museum, and etc. were constructed one after another. In this way, the cultural facilities that had supported the modern nation were concentrated in Ueno Hill.
During the process, Ueno Zoo, Japan’s first zoo opened in 1882. It was originally attached to the current Tokyo National Museum under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce. After that, it expanded and now has 500 kinds of animals, the second largest numbers in Japan in a 14.3 hectare area.
Besides, did you know there is a monorail in Ueno Zoo? It was installed in December 1957 as a means of transportation to the west extension park across the road, which is the first permanent route in Japan. It is also known to be the shortest monorail in Japan with a total length of 0.3km. However, due to aging, operation of this monorail will be suspended from November 1, 2019, and plans for reopening is not decided yet.
Giant panda Xiang-xiang will be returned to China at the end of December, 2020. Why don’t you try exploring Ueno including Ueno Zoo?
