is an

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...

in the city of Aomori, Japan, located in the eastern part of the city. Major features of the park include a public beach on

Aomori Bay The is a bay located north of the island of Honshu, in Japan. It is considered to be part of the larger Mutsu Bay. Geography Aomori Bay is an inner bay located to the west of Natsudomari Peninsula that protrudes in the center of the southern coa ...

, various decorative trees, and the

Aomori City Baseball Stadium is a stadium in Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The stadium holds 10,010 people. The stadium was built in 1950 and was repaired in 2000. On June 28, 1950, Hideo Fujimoto pitched a perfect game at the stadium. The stadium is not regularly use ...

Description

The northern border of the park is

. A public beach lines the coast of the park along the bay. To the east of the park is the neighborhood of Tsukurimichi, a road divides the park from the neighborhood. The southern boundary of the park is flanked by shops and a shrine within the neighborhood of Gappo, National Route 4 lies just beyond the park's southern boundary. Various public buildings lie to the west of the park.

Design and layout

The park is centered around a 400-year-old black pine that grew alongside the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...

road, the

Ōshū Kaidō The was one of the five routes of the Edo period. It was built to connect Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with Mutsu Province and the present-day city of Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. It was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu for government offic ...

. The tree is the

origin Origin(s) or The Origin may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics and manga * ''Origin'' (comics), a Wolverine comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 2002 * ''The Origin'' (Buffy comic), a 1999 ''Buffy the Vampire Sl ...

point for wide paved pathways that run towards the edges of the park. The park preserves the routing of the road in its east to west paved path as well as its boundary markers. The pine trees line the paved pathways of the park. These trees were planted as a memorial to the Japanese casualties of the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the ...

. The park also includes a small zoo, playground space, a tennis court, an unpaved jogging course, and a tea pavilion. The park also has 670 Yoshino cherry trees. These trees make it a popular venue for ''

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 ...

''.

History

The park was designed by the former official gardener of the

Hirosaki Domain Hirosaki Castle, the seat of the Hirosaki Domain , also known as , was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period JapanRavina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 It is located in Mutsu Province, in northern Honsh� ...

, Eisaku Mizuhara, and his brother Mijuro Kakizaki in 1881. The land they built the park on was the site of the

, an

road, and Eisaku's private land. In 1885 Eisaku died of

karoshi , which can be translated into "overwork death", is a Japanese term relating to occupation-related sudden death. The most common medical causes of karoshi deaths are heart attacks and strokes due to stress and malnourishment or fasting. Menta ...

(death by overwork) while building the park, after which Mijuro took full control of the park's construction. Mijuro's efforts ran into financial difficulty in 1890, so the then-town of Aomori provided subsidies to help complete the park with the goal of having it eventually designated as a public area. This happened in 1895 when the park, given the name Aomori Park, was donated to Aomori, officially creating the first public park in

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the eas ...

. It was given its current name, Gappo Park, in 1901 when the park was expanded to the beach. Train services to the park began on 15 January 1924 with the establishment of , though the only public transport to the area today is the

Aomori City Bus is the bus public transit system in the city of Aomori (city), Aomori in northern Japan. References External links Aomori City Bus website
{{Aomori transit Bus companies of Japan Transport in Aomori Prefecture ...

since the

Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line ( ja, 東北本線, ) is a long railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Utsunomiya, Fuku ...

was realigned away from the park in 1968. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the park was

occupied ' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October ...

by the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

until it was returned to the city of Aomori in 1954.

References

{{reflist 1895 establishments in Japan Urban public parks Urban public parks in Japan Parks and gardens in Aomori

Description

Design and layout

History

See also

References