Shakujii Park
Encyclopedia
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
's Nerima ward
Nerima, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. In English, it calls itself Nerima City.As of August 1, 2007, the ward has an estimated population of 703,005 , and a density of 14,443 persons per km². 12,897 foreign residents are registered in the ward. 18.4% of the ward's population is over the...
. Established in 1959, it is one of the larger parks in the metropolis, after Ueno Park
Ueno Park
is a spacious public park located in the Ueno section of Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It occupies the site of the former Kan'ei-ji, a temple closely associated with the Tokugawa shoguns, who had built the temple to guard Edo Castle against the north-east, then considered an unlucky direction...
. As of April 2006, the site is managed directly by the Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association, an arrangement which ended in March 2011.
The park contains within it two ponds, Shakujii Pond and Sanpō-ji Pond, several small Shintō shrines, and the remains of Shakujii castle
Shakujii castle
Shakujii castle was a Japanese castle located along the Shakujii River, in what is now Shakujii Park, in Tokyo's Nerima. The history of the inheritance of the feudal territory associated with it is the most clearly known of all territories in what is today Tokyo.The castle was strategically placed...
. The Shakujii River
Shakujii River
The is a river which flows throughthe northwest quadrant of central Tokyo, Japan.Its source is in the district of Hana-koganei-minami-chō, Kodaira City, nearthe Musashino Danchi...
runs east-west a short ways south of the park. The ponds are said to have formed naturally from the gushing up of underground water from the Musashino
Musashino, Tokyo
is a city located in Tokyo, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 137,222 and a population density of 12,788.63 persons per km². The total area is 10.73 km².The city was founded on November 3, 1947...
-dai Pond a short distance away. Over the years, however, the ponds have slowly shrunk, and so, in order to preserve the park's scenery and its recreational use, manmade systems have been installed to pump water into the ponds.
The castle ruins date from the Kamakura period
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....
(1185-1333), or earlier, and thus it is known that the site was in use, and regarded as strategically important, for many centuries. The castle was the residence of the Toshima clan
Toshima clan
The ' was a Japanese samurai clan prominent in the Kamakura and Muromachi periods of Japanese history in the northwest of what is today Tokyo. The clan was based primarily in Shakujii castle, in what is today Shakujii Park in the town of Shakujii, in Nerima-ku, until the fall of the castle in the...
of samurai, who ruled over the surrounding area in the 14th-15th centuries. The clan's destruction came largely at the hands of Ōta Dōkan
Ota Dokan
, also known as Ōta Sukenaga or Ōta Dōkan Sukenaga, was a Japanese samurai warrior-poet, military tactician and Buddhist monk. Ōta Sukenaga took the tonsure as a Buddhist priest in 1478, and he also adopted the Buddhist name, Dōkan, by which is known today...
, who was responsible for the construction of Edo castle
Edo Castle
, also known as , is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan. It is located in Chiyoda in Tokyo, then known as Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa shogunate here. It was the residence of the shogun and location of the shogunate, and also...
; many of the ruins and shrines in the area are associated with him.
In the twentieth century, it came to be a popular site for birdwatching
Birdwatching
Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...
, strolling, and relaxation, and was formally established as a public park in 1959.
In addition to being popular with local residents, the park is fairly well known throughout Tokyo. Shakujii Pond is a popular location for TV programs and films to shoot boating scenes, and the park, or its ponds, is often seen in manga, anime, and other productions of popular culture. Rumiko Takahashi
Rumiko Takahashi
is a Japanese manga artist.Takahashi is one of the wealthiest individuals, and the most affluent manga artists in Japan. The manga she creates are popular worldwide, where they have been translated into a variety of languages...
's Ranma ½
Ranma ½
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi with an anime adaptation. The story revolves around a 16-year old boy named Ranma Saotome who was trained from early childhood in martial arts...
takes place in Nerima ward, and there are a number of episodes of the manga/anime in which the characters visit the park. In addition, Kazutoshi Sakurai
Kazutoshi Sakurai
is a Japanese musician and entrepreneur. He composes and writes almost all of the songs for his band Mr. Children, in addition to writing lyrics and singing for his solo project group Bank Band. In 2006, Sakurai ranked #8 in HMV's "Top 30 Best Japanese Singers of All Time" and in 2007 was voted #4...
, of the Japanese band Mr. Children
Mr. Children
, commonly called , is a Japanese rock band formed in 1988 by Kazutoshi Sakurai, Kenichi Tahara, Keisuke Nakagawa, and Hideya Suzuki. As a group, they are one of the most successful Japanese rock artists, having sold over 50 million records and creating the in the mid 1990s in Japan...
, is said to have conceived of the lyrics to the band's song "Tomorrow never knows" while jogging there.