The five-story pagoda located today inside the Ueno Zoological Garden was once part of the Kan’ei-ji Temple, built by the Tokugawa Shogunate to protect the Edo Castle against evil spirits.

The Temple and its adjacent buildings were once part of a big complex, occupying the hills surrounding the Shinobazu Lake at north and east and the area where today is located the JR Ueno station.

The Temple was destroyed in July 1868 during the Battle of Ueno, when the entire Ueno area was completely devastated:

Ueno after the Battle of Ueno

Just the five-story pagoda, the The Bell of Time and the Toshougu Shrine survived until today.

Pagoda cu cinci trepte care se află astăzi în grădina zoologică din Ueno a aparţinut templului Kan’ei-ji, construit de shogunatul Tokugawa pentru protecţia castelului Edo.

Templul şi clădirile adiacente făceau parte dintr-un complex care ocupa înălţimile din nordul şi estul lacului Shinobazu şi porţiunea pe care se află astăzi staţia Ueno.

Templul a fost distrus în iulie 1868, în Bătălia de la Ueno, când toată zona Ueno a fost complet devastată:

Ueno after the Battle of Ueno

Doar pagoda cu 5 etaje, The Bell of Time şi Toshougu Shrine au supravieţuit până astăzi.

In Ueno, at the Kan’ei-ji Temple, I discovered a strange and beautiful monument, especially for the message it sends.

The monument, called Mushizuka, was realized from an unprocessed rock, in 1821, to fulfill a request of Sessai Masuyama, Lord of Ise Nagashima.
The purpose of Mushizuka is to console the spirits of the insects that had died after being used as models for his drawings!

Sessai Masuyama learned the art of realistic drawing from a Chinese master, Shin Nappin, renowned for drawings of flowers and birds. The collection of insects drawings created by Sessai Masuyama, Chuuchi-jou (A drawing block of sketches of insects) is well-known and appreciated.

La templul Kan’ei-ji din Ueno, am descoperit un monument pe c?t de ciudat, pe at?t de frumos prin mesajul pe care-l transmite.

Monumentul, numit Mushizuka, realizat dintr-o piatră neprelucrată, a fost ridicat ?n anul 1821 la cererea lui Sessai Masuyama, lord din Ise Nagashima, pentru a consola spiritele insectelor care au murit, fiind folosite ca model pentru desenele lui!

Sessai Masuyama a ?nvăţat arta desenului realistic de la un maestru chinez, Shin Nappin, renumit pentru desenele cu flori şi păsări. Colecţia de desene cu insecte realizate de Sessai Masuyama, Chuuchi-jou (A drawing block of sketches of insects) este o operă cunoscută şi apreciată.