is a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

in Aoyama, Minato,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, managed by the

Tokyo Metropolitan Government The is the government of the Tokyo Metropolis. One of the 56 prefectures of Japan, the government consists of a popularly elected governor and assembly. The headquarters building is located in the ward of Shinjuku. The metropolitan governme ...

. The cemetery is also famous for its

cherry blossoms A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of genus ''Prunus'' or ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especially in Japan. They generall ...

, and at the season of

hanami is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the transient beauty of flowers; in this case almost always refer to those of the or, less frequently, trees. From the end of March to early May, cherry trees bloom all over Japan, and around ...

, which many people would visit.

History

The cemetery was originally the land of the Aoyama family of the Gujō clan (now

Gujō, Gifu Gujō City Hall is a city located in Gifu, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 41,858, and a population density of 41 persons per km2, in 15,341 households. The total area of the city was . Gujo Hachiman, a part of the city that wa ...

) in the province of

Mino Mino may refer to: Places in Japan * Mino, Gifu, a city in Gifu Prefecture * Mino, Kagawa, a former town in Kagawa Prefecture * Mino, Tokushima, a town in Tokushima Prefecture * Mino, an alternate spelling of Minoh, a city in Osaka Prefecture * Mi ...

(now Gifu). Japan's first public cemetery was opened in 1874, and in the

Meiji era The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization b ...

was the main locations of foreigners' graves. Minor Sights: Aoyama- Tokyo's only Foreigners' Cemetery
/ref> The cemetery has an area of 263,564 m².

Japanese section

The Japanese section includes the graves of many notable Japanese, including: *

Hachikō was a Japanese Akita dog remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his owner, Hidesaburō Ueno, for whom he continued to wait for over nine years following Ueno's death. Hachikō was born on November 10, 1923, at a farm near the city of Ōda ...

* Amino Kiku *

Gotō Shōjirō Count was a Japanese samurai and politician during the Bakumatsu and early Meiji period of Japanese history.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Gotō Shōjirō" in He was a leader of which would evolve into a political party. Early life ...

Ichikawa Danjūrō IX was one of the most successful and famous Kabuki actors of the Meiji period (1868–1912). Ninth in the line of actors to hold the name Ichikawa Danjūrō, he is depicted in countless ''ukiyo-e'' actor prints (''yakusha-e''), and is widely c ...

* Ichikawa Danjūrō XI *

Kitasato Shibasaburō Baron was a Japanese physician and bacteriologist. He is remembered as the co-discoverer of the infectious agent of bubonic plague in Hong Kong during an outbreak in 1894, almost simultaneously with Alexandre Yersin. Kitasato was nominate ...

Nakae Chōmin was the pen-name of a journalist, political theorist and statesman in Meiji-period Japan. His real name was . His major contribution was the popularization of the egalitarian doctrines of the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau in Japan ...

Nogi Maresuke Count , also known as Kiten, Count Nogi (December 25, 1849September 13, 1912), was a Japanese general in the Imperial Japanese Army and a governor-general of Taiwan. He was one of the commanders during the 1894 capture of Port Arthur from Chin ...

Ōkubo Toshimichi was a Japanese statesman and one of the Three Great Nobles regarded as the main founders of modern Japan. Ōkubo was a ''samurai'' of the Satsuma Domain and joined the movement to overthrow the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate during the '' Bak ...

Otoya Yamaguchi was a Japanese right-wing ultranationalist youth who assassinated Inejirō Asanuma, chairman of the Japan Socialist Party, on 12 October 1960. Yamaguchi rushed the stage and stabbed Asanuma with a wakizashi short sword while Asanuma was partic ...

Sasaki Takayuki Marquis 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 (in the present-day city of Kōchi, Kōchi Prefecture). He ser ...

Shiga Naoya was a Japanese writer active during the Taishō and Shōwa periods of Japan, whose work was distinguished by its lucid, straightforward style and strong autobiographical overtones. Early life Shiga was born in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, ...

* Nishi Takeichi *

Osachi Hamaguchi Hamaguchi Osachi (Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: , also Hamaguchi Yūkō, 1 April 1870 – 26 August 1931) was a Japanese politician, cabinet minister and Prime Minister of Japan from 1929 to 1931. Nicknamed the due to his dignified demeanor and mane- ...

Tateyama Branch

The cemetery also has a Tateyama branch, where Nagata Tetsuzan, Kimura Heitarō, and

Sagara Sōzō , real name ,Watsuki, Nobuhiro. "The Secret Life of Characters (5) Sagara Sōzō," ''Rurouni Kenshin'' Volume 2. VIZ Media. 28. was the leader of the 1st Unit of the Sekihōtai, a group of Japanese political extremists formed in 1868 during the B ...

are buried.

Grave of Hachikō

One of the cemetery's most famous graves is that of

, the faithful and dutiful dog whose statue adorns

Shibuya Station is a railway station in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, operated jointly by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Keio Corporation, Tokyu Corporation, and Tokyo Metro. With 2.4 million passengers on an average weekday in 2004, it is the fourth-busiest ...

, was buried alongside his two owners,

Hidesaburō Ueno (January 19, 1872 – May 21, 1925) was a Japanese agricultural scientist, famous in Japan as the guardian of Hachikō, a devoted Akita dog. Life and career Ueno was born on January 19, 1872, in Hisai-shi (present-day Tsu), Mie Prefecture. In ...

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: * Thomas Baty (1869–1954), English transgender lawyer, writer and activist. *

Francis Brinkley Francis Brinkley (30 December 1841 – 12 October 1912) was an Anglo-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 architect ...

(1841–1912), journalist and scholar. *

Edoardo Chiossone Edoardo Chiossone (January 21, 1833 – April 11, 1898) 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. He designed the first Japanese bank notes. Biogra ...

(1833–1898), engraver. *

Edwin Dun Edwin Dun (June 19, 1848 – May 15, 1931) was a rancher from Ohio who was employed as an ''o-yatoi gaikokujin'' in Hokkaidō by the Hokkaidō Development Commission (''Kaitakushi'') and advised the Japanese government on modernizing agricu ...

(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 An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

to Japan. * Flora B. Harris, missionary and translator, wife of

Merriman Colbert Harris Merriman Colbert Harris (July 9, 1846 – May 8, 1921) was a Missionary Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1904, who was active in late nineteenth and early twentieth century Japan. Birth and family Merriman was born July 9, ...

. *

(1846–1921) American Methodist missionary. * Henry Hartshorne (1823–97), Quaker missionary and doctor, father of Anna Hartshorne. *

Joseph Heco Joseph Heco (born September 20, 1837 – December 12, 1897) was the first Japanese person to be naturalized as a United States citizen and the first to publish a Japanese language newspaper. Early years Hikozō Hamada was born in Harima pro ...

(1837–1897), the first naturalized Japanese-American. *

Paul Jacoulet Paul Jacoulet (1896–1960) 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 Jacoulet was born in Paris in 1896 and lived in Jap ...

(1902–1960), French-born woodblock print artist in the Japanese style. *

Arthur Lloyd Arthur Lloyd may refer to: * Arthur Lloyd (rugby league), rugby league footballer of the 1930s for Wales, and York * Arthur Lloyd (musician) (1839–1904), Scottish singer, songwriter, comedian and stage producer * Arthur Lloyd (bishop) (1844–19 ...

(1852-1911), British.

Anglican Church in Japan The ''Nippon Sei Ko Kai'' ( ja, 日本聖公会, translit=Nippon Seikōkai, lit=Japanese Holy Catholic Church), abbreviated as NSKK, sometimes referred to in English as the Anglican Episcopal Church in Japan, is the national Christian church rep ...

minister,

Keio University , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private research coeducational higher education institution , established = 1858 , founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa , endowmen ...

professor and translator. *

Henry Spencer Palmer Major General Henry Spencer Palmer (30 April 1838 – 10 February 1893) 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 B ...

(1838–1893) British engineer and journalist. * Julius Scriba (1848–1905), German surgeon. *

Alexander Croft Shaw Alexander Croft Shaw M.A. (26 June 1846 – 13 March 1902) was a minister of the Anglican Church of Canada. He is remembered as Archdeacon Shaw, minister to the British Legation in Tokyo and a leading figure in the early years of the Anglica ...

(1846-1902), Canadian.

minister,

Keio University , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private research coeducational higher education institution , established = 1858 , founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa , endowmen ...

professor. *

Frederick William Strange Frederick William Strange (September 9, 1844 – June 5, 1897) was an English-born physician, surgeon and political figure in Ontario, Canada. He represented York North in the House of Commons of Canada from 1878 to 1882 as a Liberal-Conservati ...

(1853 – 1889), British. University instructor, founder of competitive

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

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 Charles Dickinson West (January 1847 – 10 January 1908) was an Irish mechanical engineer and naval architect, who worked for many years at the Imperial College of Engineering, in Meiji era Japan. Biography West was born in Dublin, Ireland as ...

(1847–1908), Irish engineer.

References