Directory_and_Chronicle_1898 — Page 446

TOKYO

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an aggregation of towns than one great city. The Castle of Tokyo occupies a commanding position on a hill a little to the westward of the centre of the city. It is enclosed in double walls, and surrounded by a tine broad moat. Within the Castle formerly stood the Imperial Palace and several public offices, but the destructive fire of the 3rd of April, 1872, levelled these ancient and massive buildings, leaving only the surrounding lofty turrets and walls. A new Palace on the old site has been constructed, and the Mikado took up his residence there in January, 1889. The Imperial Garden called Fukiage is situated within the enclosure of the Castle. It is tastefully laid out in the pure native style, and contains fine forest trees, rare and beautiful plants of all kinds, a large pond, cascades, &c., and is most carefully kept. This fine garden well repays inspection, and admission can be obtained by visitors with orders granted by the Department of the Imperial Household,

Between the Castle and the outer walls, a large area was formerly occupied by the numerous palaces of the Daimios, but nearly all these feudal erections have now given place to smart brick or stone buildings, used as Public Offices, Barracks, Government Schools, &c., so that at the present time very few of the Daimios' palaces remain to illustrate what old Yedo was like in the time of the Shogunate. Some of those that remain, near the Castle, have been converted into Government Offices. They are large long buildings of a single high storey, plain but substantial, with no pretensions to architecture, but interesting as reminiscences of feudal Japan.

The remaining portion of the city outside the walls is very densely inhabited, and may be called the commercial district of Tokyo. It has a circumference of 24 miles and covers an area of about 29 square miles. The most important part of the business quarter is on the east of the Castle, and is traversed by a main street running from the north to the south-west under different names. A considerable length of this thoroughfare, which is called Ginza, is lined with newly built brick buildings in the European style; the road is wide and well kept, the pavement broad and planted with trees on either side. As it is in close contiguity to the principal railway station, it is always very animated and thronged with vehicles and foot passengers.

The north end of the main street leads to the new public park or garden named Tyeno, which was formerly occupied by the magnificent Temple founded and main- tained by the Shoguns, and which was destroyed by fire during the war of Restoration in July, 1868. In these grounds the Industrial Exhibition of 1877 was erected, when the gardens were converted into a public pleasure resort by the Government. Several exhibitions have since been held here and have proved very successful. In Uyeno is also situated the fine Imperial Museum (Haku-butsu-kwan).

Among the places much resorted to by visitors is the ancient temple of Kwannon, at Asakusa, not far from Uyeno, one of the most popular and most frequented temples in Japan. The temple is elevated about 20 feet from the ground. A 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 and er motos. The interior 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 Pagoda, 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, among the chief glories of Tokyo, there are three large public gardens within the city. The buildings which are called the Temple of Confucius were formerly the University of Tokyo, but this has been superseded since the Restoration by the Teikoku Daigaku and other schools in which Foreign instructors are employed. There are altogether 1,275 temples in Tokyo, some of which are fine edifices. The building in which the Imperial Diet meets is a plain edifice, and is only intended for temporary use.

The districts of Honjo and Fukagawa form the quiet portion of the capital. This quarter is connected with Tokyo proper by five great bridges, some of which are constructed of iron and some of wood. They are called, commencing on the north, Adsuma-Bashi, Umaya-Bashi, Ryogoku-Bashi, O-Hashi, and Eitai-Bashi respectively. The quay on the banks of the Sumida forms a spacious and handsome street, and may be especially recommended to a traveller who has only a few days to spend in Tokyo. In passing along the quay he will see across the stream several fine temples and great buildings which stand on the western banks of the Great River, and he may get at the same time a very good idea of the animated 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