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Ueno Park is not only one of the most popular parks in Tokyo
but one of the oldest as well. It was one of the first public
parks opened after Restoration of Meiji in 1868. The park
was established in 1873 according to the Emperor's order.
Trees and bushes were brought here from different parts of
the country, so the park became a sort of Botanic garden,
where the entire flora of Japan is represented. The park offers
its visitors a large variety of attractions.
Ueno Park houses many famous museums. Among them, there are
the Tokyo National Museum, Orient Museum, National Science
Museum, National Museum for Western Art, and Tokyo Metropolitan
Fine Art Gallery. These museums speak for themselves, but
there some smaller ones, not so well-known, but quite interesting.
In the Ueno-no-Mori Museumm, the exhibition of calligraphy
is regularly held. The ground floor of the Shitamachi Museum
recreates the interior of traditional Edo-period houses and
shops. Shitamachi, translated as "low city," was
the part of the old city where merchants, craftsmen and other
commoners worked and lived.
Since 1882, the park housed a zoological garden. Being the
oldest in the country, Ueno Zoo is also considered to be among
the best zoos in the country. Here more than 1,000 species
have been collected. It the only zoo in Japan where you can
see giant "bamboo bears", pandas, presented to Tokyo
by China. By the way, pandas have been included in Guinness
World Records Books as the most attractive rare animals.
Not far from the Zoo, there is Shinobazu Pond, where in summer
traditional lotuses bloom. It was established in the 17th
century as the place for meditation and solitude. Now it is
a small bird reserve. In the center of the pond on the island,
there is Benten Shrine, dedicated to Benten or Benzaiten,
goddess of wisdom.
At the park south entrance a statue of Saigo Takamori stands.
He was one of the most outstanding political figures and the
leader of antishogun movement. The bronze statue was established
in 1898 and nowadays is one of the most famous and popular
statues in Japan. After World War II War, the government decided
to remove the monument, but hasn't done that because of the
general indignation and numerous protests.
The most famous religious building in the park is Toshugu
Shrine, dedicated to the great shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, the
founder of the Edo shogunate that ruled the country from 1603
to 1867. Near the temple you can see white sheets of paper
flutter in the wind. These are predictions. Japanese believe
that if you have got a bad prediction you should tie it only
with the left hand and it wouldn't come true.
Kiyomizu Kannon-do Temple was built in 1631. The main treasure
of the temple is the statue of Kannon that is shown to the
visitor only once a year. The Japanese believe that Kannon
can grant women wishing to give birth. That's why you can
see many dolls in front of the goddess' altar. They were brought
here by happy parents, whose prayers were heard. The dolls
are burnt in an annual bonfire on 25 September, as a thank-offering
to the goddess.
There are more than 1,000 cherry trees in the park. During
the cherry blossom, thousands of people come to the park to
celebrate hanami (blossom viewing). The Japanese can sit for
hours under a blooming tree and enjoy the magnificent sight
of a small miracle.
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