Edo Castle between 1872 and 1874. In the center is the Sakashita Gate; in the background, the Fujimi Yagura turret. Both still exist today. The massive castle, built in a marsh, was the heart of a new social order from which the unique culture emerged of Tokyo’s Ueno district.
Before it was razed by the terrifying fires of the 1923 quake, the area in front of Tokyo’s Ueno Park was a vibrant maze of geisha houses, rendezvous teahouses, and top-class restaurants, many with a breathtaking view of the lotus-filled Shinobazu Pond. It was a place where geisha, art, and power met and mingled.
The 1907 Tokyo Industrial Exhibition’s ornate buildings stand where the grandstand of the Shinobazu Horse Racetrack once stood at Tokyo’s Ueno Park. Its sober traditional architecture replaced by the vibrant Taiwan Pavilion and an eclectic Westernized architecture.
A spectacular view of thousands of lotus flowers surrounding Bentenjima Island in Shinobazu Pond. From 1884 to 1892, the pond was the location of Japan’s most important horse racing track, strongly supported by Emperor Meiji and the government.
Today, people visit Shinobazu Pond in Tokyo’s Ueno Park to quietly admire its magnificent lotus flowers. But for a brief period in the past, crowds gathered here to watch exciting horse races, brilliant spectacles that were carefully designed to craft a national identity.
Many photographs on Old Photos of Japan were shot in the 1880s and 1890s, nearly a century and a half ago. It feels very long ago. But is it?