Directory_and_Chronicle_1881 — Page 417

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The north end of the main street leads to the ne public park or garden named Uyeno, which was formerly occupied by the magnifi ent Temple founded and main- tained by the Shoguns, and which was destroyed by fire during the revolution in July, 1868. In these grounds the Industrial Exhibition of 1877 was erected, when the gardens were at great expense converted into a public pleasure resort by the Government. The second exhibition will be held on the same site, in March of this year, under the superintendence of a prince of the Imperial family. It is proposed to hold one of these exhibitions every four years. The next one will be on a more extensive scale than the last. It was in the Uyeno Garden that the Mikado and General Grant were entertained by the citizens of Tokio in the summer of 1879 on a scale of magni- ficence unprecedented in the annals of the city.

Among the places much resorted to by visitors is the ancient temple of Quannon, at Asakusa, not far from Uyeno, one of the most beautiful, most venerated, and most frequented temples in Japan. The temple is elevated about 20 feet from the ground. A grand flight of steps gives access to the interior. There is a chief altar at the extreme end of the temple, with side chapels at its right and left, containing a great number of wooden images, which, with the "glory" round their heads, resemble the images of Catholic saints. The interior of the temple is not very large, and is not so conspicuous for cleanliness as most of the public buildings in Japan. At the right of the temple there is a fine old Pag da, and near it two colossal stone statues. A new park was also opened close to the temple, about the same time as that of Uyeno. Thus, with Shiba in the South West, where are to be seen some of the splendid shrines of the Shoguns, there are three large public gardens within the city. The buildings which are called the Temple of Confucius were formerly the University of Tokio, but this has been superseded since the Restoration by the Tokio Dai-gaku-kō (Tokio University), and other schools in which Foreign instructors are employed. There were altogether 1,275 temples in Tokio in 1879, some of which are fine edifices.

The districts of Honjo and Fukagawa form the quiet portion of the capital. This quarter is connected with Tokio proper by five great bridges, some of which are constructed of stone and some of wood. They are called, commencing on the north, Adsuma Bashi, Umaya Basbi, Riogoku Bashi, Ohashi, and Yeitai Bashi respectively. The quay on the banks of the Suurida forms a spacious and handsome street, and may be especially recommended to a traveller who has only a few days to spend in Tokio. In passing along the quay, he will see across the stream several fine temples and great buildings, which stand on the western bank of the Great River, and he may get at the same time a very good idea of the anima ed river-life of the Sumida, whose waters are always covered with junks and boats of all descriptions.

A great part of the remaining area forming the district North of the Castle is covered by paddy fields, in the midst of which rise picturesquely situated houses. There are also extensive pleasure gardens, such as Aska-yama, and neat little villages. The surface cover d by paddy fields and pleasure gardens may be estimated at 4 square miles. The part West of the Castle contains fiity temples, and a number of nobles' palaces. The district on the South of the Castle, with an average surface of 174 square miles, contains about sixty temples. The most remarkable among them is the Tera of Meguro. In this part of Tokio is situated the Mausoleum of the Shoguus, surrounded by several temples.

Several great fires have during the last few years swept Tokio, more especially that of April, 1872, which led to great improvements and the widening of the streets. Rows of fine houses in brick and stone, and new bridges, in many cases of iron or stone, have been built, and the city has in mauy portions been thoroughly modernised. The main streets and those adjacent to them are lighted with gas. Lines of telegraph, amounting in all to 220 miles, connect the various parts of the city with one another, and with the country lines. A terrific fire occurred on the 26th December, 1879, when upwards of 11,000 houses were destroyed. This was followed on the 4th February, 1880, by another fire, involving the destruction of 2,500 buildings. The streets are generally broad and well kept, and improvements attend the work of reconstruction after each conflagration. But as the city is in a transition state, it necessarily presents

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