Bunkyo city Course

The Nicholai Cathedral was founded in 1891, named after the Archbishop St. Nicholai, who visited Japan in 1861. Josaian Conder made the detailed design based on the original design by Micahel Shchurupov. The design was drawn with ogee arch motif of Byzantine style. This building is highly valued for a pioneer before a RC structure became the mainstream. In 1998, this building was restored to reproduce the beautiful Byzantine style in 1929, at the renovation just after breaking down by the Great Earthquake in 1923.

The origin was a private school established in 1630 in Shinobugaoka, Ueno by Hayashi Razan, Confucian scholar for Tokugawa shogunate. Tokugawa Yoshinao, the founder of Owari Tokugawa clan, supported the school and donated in 1632 senseiden (Worship Hall of Ancient Sages) in memory of Confucius and four great figures of the ancient Confucianism, i.e. Yan Yuan, Zengzi, Zisi and Mencius, with their statues being settled.

In 1690, the fifth shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi transferred the worship hall to Yushima, and renamed it Taiseiden. From then, people began to use a collective name seido (temple) for this Taiseiden together with attached buildings.

In 1797, Shoheizaka Gakumonjo, an institute under direct control of the shogunate was inaugurated. At that time, the name seido became a concept used exclusively for the Confucian temple (Taiseiden) of the complex collectively called seido till then.

Taiseiden, a splendid temple overall painted in black and built in Chinese style was renewed in 1799. However, the temple was burnt down due to the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the year following designation as historic site by the government. Later, it was rebuilt in reinforced concrete in 1935, and has survived disasters during the World War II.

This Torii made of copper casting has "Daiwa-Torii"style. It has curved Kasagi (the top lintel) and Shimaki on top of Daiwa (plates between Shimaki and pillars), are placed on the two inward leaning pillars. There are two Japanese plum shaped crests on the Shimaki (secondary lintel directly attached to the underside of the top lintel) and a Tenmangu sculpture at front. The inscription of the copperplate provided to be constructed in September 1667, on the bottom of the right pillar. On the left pillar, names of donators (1667 and 1668) are written. According to Gofunaibikou (topography), the Tenmangu sculpture was made in 1673. Because there are some year's differences between the copperplate and Gofunaibikou, it is assumed that this Torii was made between 1661 and 1673. written on the pillars and the copperplate indicates that the gate has been often repaired.

The founder of the Mitsubishi Group, Yataro Iwasaki (1834-85), purchased the estate of about 46,200 m2 and mansion from former Maidzuru Clan governor, the Makino Family. He moved from Yushima Umezono-cho to this place in 1882. Yataro's son, Hisaya Iwasaki (1865-1955), constructed his private residence here after his father's death. The residence was mainly composed of western-style houses and Japanese-style houses. The existing western-style house and billiards house were designed by Josiah Conder (1852-1920) and completed in 1896. The western-style house is a two-story wooden building with a basement and slate-shingle roof. It is based on Jacobean style - a style seen in England at the beginning of the 17th century. The front of this building has a unique design: heights of eaves and windows on both sides of the tower on the gate are not the same, and those windows are decorated in a variety of ways. On the contrary, the back of the building facing the lawn garden has a simple design with two verandas. The billiards house adjoining the western-style house is a one-story wooden building with a basement and slate-shingle roof. It is also a unique western-style structure and looks like a cottage. The main hall is in a Japanese-style house connected to the back of the western-style house. It has a hipped pantile roof. The Japanese-style house remaining today is only a part of large mansion of the old days. The structures and gardens are very important historic sites that excite our imagination over the old lives of zaibatsu (Japanese industrial conglomerate) family.