Aoyama Cemetery (青山霊園, Aoyama reien) is a cemetery in Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The cemetery is also famous for its cherry blossoms, and at the season of hanami, which many people would visit.
History
The cemetery was originally the land of the Aoyama family of the
Gujō clan (now Gujō, Gifu) in the province of Mino (now Gifu).
Japan's first public cemetery was opened in 1874, and in the Meiji
era was the main locations of foreigners' graves.
The cemetery has an area of 263,564 m2.
Japanese
Section
The Japanese section includes the graves of many notable
Japanese, including:
- Amino Kiku
- Gotō Shōjirō
- Ichikawa Danjūrō IX
- Ichikawa Danjūrō XI
- Kitasato Shibasaburō
- Nakae Chōmin
- Nogi Maresuke
- Ōkubo Toshimichi
- Otoya Yamaguchi
- Sasaki Takayuki
- Shiga Naoya
- Nishi Takeichi
- Osachi Hamaguchi
Tateyama
Branch
The cemetery also has a Tateyama branch, where Nagata Tetsuzan,
Kimura Heitarō, and Sagara Sōzō are buried.
Grave of
Hachikō
One of the cemetery's most famous graves is that of Hachikō, the
faithful and dutiful dog whose statue adorns Shibuya Station, was
buried alongside with his two owners, Hidesaburō Ueno and Yaeko
Sakano.
Foreign
Section
The cemetery includes a gaikokujin bochi (foreign cemetery), one
of the few such plots in Tokyo. Many of the graves are of foreign
experts who came to Japan at the end of the 19th century, as part
of the Meiji Government's drive for modernisation. Although some of
the graves were threatened with removal in 2005 due to unpaid
annual fees, the Foreign Section was awarded special protection in
2007. A plaque on the site recognises the men and women who
contributed to Japan's modernization.
Some of the noted foreigners buried within the cemetery:
- Francis Brinkley (1841–1912) Journalist and scholar.
- Edoardo Chiossone (1833–1898), engraver.
- Edwin Dun (1848–1931), American agricultural advisor.
- William Clark Eastlake (1834–87) "Dental Pioneer of the
Orient"
- Hugh Fraser (1837–1894), British Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary to Japan.
- Flora B. Harris, missionary and translator, wife of Merriman
Colbert Harris.
- Merriman Colbert Harris (1846–1921) American Methodist
missionary.
- Henry Hartshorne (1823–97), Quaker missionary and doctor,
father of Anna Hartshorne.
- Joseph Heco (1837–1897), the first naturalized
Japanese-American.
- Paul Jacoulet (1902–1960), French-born woodblock print artist
in the Japanese style.
- Arthur Lloyd (1852-1911), British. Anglican Church in Japan
minister, Keio University professor and translator.
- Henry Spencer Palmer (1838–1893) British engineer and
journalist.
- Julius Scriba (1848–1905), German surgeon.
- Alexander Croft Shaw (1846-1902), Canadian. Anglican Church in
Japan minister, Keio University professor.
- Frederick William Strange (1853 – 1889), British. University
instructor, founder of competitive rowing in Japan.
- Guido Verbeck (1830–98), Dutch political advisor, educator, and
missionary.
- Gottfried Wagener (1831-1892), German chemist, educator and
ceramics specialist
- Charles Dickinson West (1847–1908), Irish engineer.
See also
- Zōshigaya cemetery
- Yanaka cemetery
References