Aoyama Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
in Minato, Tokyo
Minato, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 1 March 2008, it had an official population of 217,335 and a population density of 10,865 persons per km². The total area is 20.34 km².Minato hosts 49 embassies...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The cemetery is also famous for its cherry blossoms
Cherry Blossoms
Cherry Blossoms is one of the oldest and largest international marriage agencies still in operation today. It was established in 1974 as a picture catalog, but has now switched entirely to a web-based format...
, and at the season of hanami
Hanami
is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers, "flower" in this case almost always meaning cherry blossoms or ume blossoms. From the end of March to early May, sakura bloom all over Japan, and around the first of February on the island of Okinawa...
, many people visit.
History
The cemetery was originally the land of the Aoyama family of the Gujō clan (now Gujō, GifuGujo, Gifu
is a city in Gifu Prefecture, Japan.As of July 2011, the city has an estimated population of 43,960. The total area is 1,030.79 km².-History:...
) in the province of Mino
Mino Province
, one of the old provinces of Japan, encompassed part of modern-day Gifu Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Mino Province bordered Echizen, Hida, Ise, Mikawa, Ōmi, Owari, and Shinano Provinces....
(now Gifu
Gifu, Gifu
is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku period, various warlords, including Oda Nobunaga, used...
). This is Japan's first public cemetery.
The cemetery has an area of 260,000 m2.
Japanese Section
The Japanese section includes the graves of many notable Japanese, including:- Nogi Maresuke,
- Ōkubo ToshimichiOkubo Toshimichi, was a Japanese statesman, a samurai of Satsuma, and one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. He is regarded as one of the main founders of modern Japan.-Early life:...
- Shiga Naoya
- Nishi TakeichiTakeichi NishiColonel/Baron was a Japanese Imperial Army officer, equestrian show jumper, and Olympic Gold Medalist at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. He was a tank unit commander at the Battle of Iwo Jima and was killed in action during the defense of the island....
- Sasaki TakayukiSasaki TakayukiMarquis was a bureaucrat, government minister and court official in late Meiji period Japan.-Biography:Sasaki was born into a samurai class family in Agawa District, Tosa Domain . He served the Yamauchi clan in several important posts, including kōri-bugyō and ōmetsuke...
- Yoshida ShigeruShigeru Yoshida, KCVO was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1946 to 1947 and from 1948 to 1954.-Early life:...
Foreign Section
The cemetery includes a gaijin bochiForeign cemeteries in Japan
The foreign cemeteries in Japan are chiefly located in Tokyo and at the former treaty ports of Nagasaki, Kobe, Yokohama, and Hakodate. They contain the mortal remains of long-term Japan residents, and are separate from any of the military cemeteries.-Tokyo:The Tokyo foreign cemetery is a section...
(foreign cemetery) containing the remains of many noted foreigners.
- Francis BrinkleyFrancis BrinkleyFrancis Brinkley was an Irish newspaper owner, editor and scholar who resided in Meiji period Japan for over 40 years, where he was the author of numerous books on Japanese culture, art and architecture, and an English-Japanese Dictionary...
(1841–1912) Journalist and scholar. - Edoardo ChiossoneEdoardo ChiossoneEdoardo Chiossone was an Italian engraver and painter, noted for his work as a foreign advisor to Meiji period Japan, and for his collection of Japanese art.-Biography:...
(1833–1898), engraver. - Edwin DunEdwin DunEdwin Dun was a rancher from Ohio who was employed as an o-yatoi gaikokujin in Hokkaidō by the Hokkaidō Development Commission and advised the Japanese government on modernizing agricultural techniques during the Meiji modernization period.Dun was a native of Chillicothe, Ohio and had studied at...
(1848–1931), American agricultural advisor. - William Clark Eastlake (1834–87) "Dental Pioneer of the Orient"
- Hugh Fraser (1837–1894), British ambassador to Japan.
- Flora B. Harris, missionary and translator.
- Henry Hartshorne (1823–97), Quaker missionary and doctor, father of Anna Hartshorne.
- Merriman Colbert HarrisMerriman Colbert HarrisMerriman Colbert Harris was a Missionary Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1904.-Birth and family:...
(1846–1921) American Methodist missionary. - Joseph HecoJoseph HecoJoseph Heco was the first Japanese person to be naturalized as a United States citizen and the first to publish a Japanese language newspaper.-Early years:...
(1837–1897), the first naturalized Japanese-American. - Paul JacouletPaul JacouletPaul Jacoulet was a French, Japan-based woodblock print artist known for a style that mixed the traditional ukiyo-e style and techniques developed by the artist himself.- Biography :...
(1902–1960), French-born woodblock print artist in the Japanese style. - Arthur Lloyd, English professor and translator
- Henry Spencer PalmerHenry Spencer PalmerMajor General Henry Spencer Palmer was a British army military engineer and surveyor, noted for his work in developing Yokohama harbor in the Empire of Japan as a foreign advisor to the Japanese government-Biography:...
(1838–1893) British engineer and journalist. - Julius ScribaJulius ScribaJulius Karl Scriba was a German surgeon serving as a foreign advisor in Meiji period Japan, where he was an important contributor to the development of Western medicine in Japan.- Biography :...
(1848–1905), German surgeon. - Guido VerbeckGuido VerbeckGuido Herman Fridolin Verbeck was a Dutch political advisor, educator, and missionary active in Bakumatsu and Meiji period Japan...
(1830–98), Dutch political advisor, educator, and missionary. - Charles Dickinson WestCharles Dickinson WestCharles Dickinson West was an Anglo-Irish mechanical engineer and naval architect, who worked for many years at the Imperial College of Engineering, in Meiji era Japan.-Biography:...
(1847–1908), Irish engineer. - Anna Whitney (1834–1883), mother of diarist Clara Whitney.
Hachiko's Grave
One of the cemetery's most famous graves is that of HachikōHachiko
, known in Japanese as chūken Hachikō , was an Akita dog born on a farm near the city of Ōdate, Akita Prefecture, remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his owner, even many years after his owner's death.-Life:In 1924, Hidesaburō Ueno,...
, the dutiful dog whose statue adorns Shibuya Station
Shibuya Station
is a train station located in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. With 2.4 million passengers on an average weekday in 2004, it is the fourth-busiest commuter rail station in Japan handling a large amount of commuter traffic between the center city and suburbs to the south and west.-JR East:*Saikyō Line /...
.
Tateyama Branch
The cemetery also has a Tateyama branch, where Nagata TetsuzanTetsuzan Nagata
-External links:...
, Kimura Heitarō, and Sagara Sōzō
Sagara Sōzō
, real name , was the commanding officer of the Sekihōtai. After the battle of Toba and Fushimi, in 1868, it constitutes a civilian squad made principally of farmers and merchants....
are buried.
See also
- Somei cemetery
- Zōshigaya cemeteryZoshigaya cemeteryis a public cemetery in Minami-Ikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo, founded by the Tokyo Metropolitan government.The cemetery welcomes people from any religion and contains the graves of many famous people in its 10 ha area...
- Yanaka cemeteryYanaka Cemeteryis a large cemetery located north of Ueno in Yanaka 7-chome, Taito, Tokyo, Japan. The Yanaka sector of Taito is one of the few Tokyo neighborhoods in which the old Shitamachi atmosphere can still be felt...
- Yahashi cemetery
- Tama cemetery