pathway to history and culture - higurashinosato : August 15 2024

the day has finally turned to night and here i am with another version of my night walks. as a fan of taking pictures while night walking, i would like to walk in areas i haven't been too, that gives the most surprises. and here i am utterly surprised with some historical and cultural locations right under my nose.

higurashinosato (日暮しの里)

it was an unintended path really, i just went there without knowing what to expect. it was but a very small alley right beside the nishi nippori station which i took because i wanted to reach ueno park from a different entrance. and if i was not that much curious on the everyday signs and pedestals erected, i would have surely missed that this place was a historic sight at all.

it was at the top of this small hill that i noticed the info sign, sort of a guide marker. to paraphrase what it said, it mentioned that this neighborhood was called dokanyama, and that in the edo period this place was a scenic spot with picturesque views, where people often visited for seasonal enjoyments, and that it often appeared in pictures, poems, and stories. furthermore, the info sign also mentioned that this walking course is one of the 23 designated historical walks of tokyo.

now that is something big i stumbled upon.

writing about it now, my research said

The area was also called "Higurashi no Sato" (village of the time between dawn to dusk) because the springtime cherry blossoms and autumn leaves were beautiful, and it was said one would forget the setting of the sun.

^source

in one other source, it was mentioned that higurashinosato(日暮しの里) was an alternate reading of how the place is known today, nippori(日暮里). no wonder why those kanji characters looked familiar.

a woodblock print by hiroshige

^{a woodblock print of higurashinosato. source}

now, seasonal picturesque view is something tricky to capture. i have an inkling that spring is the best time to traverse this place, so here i am with my best representation of the place in one summer night. this is what the nightwalker captured that one fateful night.

let us start with the nearest, suwa shrine (諏方神社). it was dark, sadly. i tried my best to capture as much light as i can with my cellphone. this was but a small shrine but had a rather large grounds. the temple, together with the torii gates and some documents found in this temple, are all designated as tangible cultural properties. it would surely be interesting to revisit this place during the daytime.

immediately just outside of the torii, lies a buddhist temple jokoji(浄光寺). all i could take was the gate, and it was even a blurred one. the temple was close by the time i got there.

i found this unique looking street sign post at the far end of the road. definitely shows that this whole road had some importance. this place will be having a festival next week on the 24th and 25th, that is something good to know. i would probably be back by then to check out the small shops during festival season.

at the very end of the road right at the major intersection, was kyooji(経王寺). this nightwalk has become a photowalk of shrine and temple gates. now this temple had a rather cool history with it, it bore witness to the battle of ueno in 1868 and even had bullet holes still on the temple's gate.

directly beside it is yet another closed temple, hongyoji(本行寺). this temple was founded in the 1500's and had graves of two prominent people in japanese history.

^kyooji

^hongyoji

we are staying true to brand, this walk has become a truly historical and cultural one. there were still many temples and shrines.

one of interest was that of kannonji(観音寺). the temple was closed (nothing new) but a historical plaque was outside which mentions of the temple's relation with the revenge of the 47 ronins, the ako incident of 1703. two of these ronins were brothers with a studying priest in this temple, and it was here where they plotted the revenge murder for the person responsible for the death of their feudal master. such a thick plot, but oh so real.

in front of kudokurinji(功徳林寺) is a tale of beauty. well you can just enlarge the picture and read it straight from the plaque.

^kannonji

^kudokurinji

further on and some left turns, i reached yanaka cemetery(谷中霊園). yes, you heard it right, a cemetery. i took a right from this house and the cemetery came into view.

it is a very large cemetery of over 100 thousand sq. meters and over 7 thousand graves. it is very large that it even has it's own police station. it is quite famous for the sakura trees lined on it's main road. i have been here once or twice, to see the sakura blooms.

i initially planned to see the tokugawa clan burial sites, but as you can see the path is pretty dark. the tokugawas is a prominent clan, the leaders of the tokugawa shogunate of which the last shogun was laid rest here in yanaka cemetery.

putting that aside, i proceeded to find a road to ueno park, preferably a well lit one. i passed by this path until there were no more lights. i had no other choice but to cross in the darkness, not particularly afraid of the "unseen", but i am more afraid of the unknown. images of crime and murder filled my head as i walked faster, i certainly do not wish to witness nor be part of any of that.

thankfully, i passed by safe!
my higurashinosato walk has ended.
for sure, the area would have better views in spring and i would love to be back by then.

as always, AMPING KANUNAY!