is a neighbourhood in Tokyo, northwest of

Iidabashi Station is a major interchange railway station which straddles Tokyo's Chiyoda, Shinjuku and Bunkyō wards. It was originally built as Iidamachi Station (albeit in a slightly different location), terminus of the then Kōbu Railway, precursor to today' ...

. It has a shopping street at its center, lined by numerous

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

s and restaurants. It is served by Tokyo Metro Tozai Line and Toei Oedo Line.

History

The main road of Kagurazaka was once at the outer edge of

Edo Castle is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo and is therefore also known as . Tokugawa Ieyasu established the ...

, opposite the Ushigome bridge over the castle

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

, and has always been busy because of this privileged location.''Literary life in Tōkyō, 1885-1915'' by Katai Tayama, p.231
/ref> In the early 20th century, the area was renowned for its numerous

geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha, 芸者 ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ʃ, ə; {{IPA-ja, ɡeːɕa, lang), also known as {{nihongo, , 芸子, geiko (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or {{nihongo, , 芸妓, geigi, are a class of female ...

houses, of which several remain today. Currently, Kagurazaka is experiencing a popularity boom due to its traditional atmosphere on the edge of modern

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

ward, the existence of the original campus of

Tokyo University of Science , formerly "Science University of Tokyo" or TUS, informally or simply is a private research university located in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. History Tokyo University of Science was founded in 1881 as The Tokyo Academy of Physics by 21 graduates ...

and its proximity to

Waseda University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902. The university has numerou ...

. The area is also home to a number of publishing houses. While it retains a traditional Japanese atmosphere, Kagurazaka now has a significant French presence with many French expatriates living in the area due to the proximity of l'Institut Franco-Japonais de Tokyo and the Lycée Franco-Japonais de Tokyo's primary section. Kagurazaka also has Tokyo's largest concentration of French eateries, bakeries and cheese shops. l'Institut Franco-Japonais holds a lively program of cultural events, food tastings, and film screenings. Kagurazaka is also widely regarded as an important center of Japanese cuisine within the Kanto region. Several old and famous ''

ryōtei A is a type of traditional Japanese restaurant. Traditionally, only accept new customers by referral and feature entertainment by geisha, but in modern times this is not always the case. are typically a place where high-level business or po ...

'' are to be found in the winding back streets, often accessible only by foot. These provide expensive ''

kaiseki or is a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner. The term also refers to the collection of skills and techniques that allow the preparation of such meals and is analogous to Western haute cuisine. There are two kinds of traditional Japanese ...

'' cuisine, generally regarded as the pinnacle of Japanese food. They also allow diners to invite

to provide entertainment during the evening. Many shops in the area cater to this culture, especially selling kimono, Japanese sweets, and tea.

Festivals

The Kagurazaka

Awa Odori The is held from 12 to 15 August as part of the Obon festival in Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku in Japan. Awa Odori is the largest dance festival in Japan, attracting over 1.3 million tourists every year. Groups of choreographed dancers and mu ...

(Japanese: 阿波踊り) festival (originating in Tokushima) is held the fourth Friday and Saturday each July. The Kagurazaka connection to the dance goes back to the Edo era, when the Tokugawa daimyō donated the Ushigome Mitsuke. This is the fortified gate at the bottom of the Kagurazaka hill, on the opposite side of the canal. Today, only its foundations remain, just to the south of JR

Iidabashi is a district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was in the former ward of Kōjimachi, which existed in Tokyo until 1947. Etymology Iidabashi is named after a nearby bridge called Iida Bridge (, ''Iidabashi''), itself named after an Edo-period fa ...

station.

Religious buildings

Akagi Shrine (赤城神社 ''Akagi Jinja'') was formerly at the top end of Kagurazaka. It was redeveloped with a new

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

and apartment complex, designed by

Kengo Kuma is a Japanese architect and professor in the Department of Architecture (Graduate School of Engineering) at the University of Tokyo. Frequently compared to contemporaries Shigeru Ban and Kazuyo Sejima, Kuma is also noted for his prolific writings ...

and opened to the public in September 2010.

Notes

External links

Akagi Shrine Official Website in JapaneseMore information at Japanvisitor
{{Authority control Neighborhoods of Tokyo Shinjuku

History

Festivals

Religious buildings

See also

Notes

External links