is an amusement park in

Asakusa is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known as the location of the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as the . History The ...

, Taitō, Tokyo that has operated since 1853. It is operated by Hanayashiki Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of

Bandai Namco Holdings also known as the Bandai Namco Group and generally Bandai Namco, is a Japanese multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, formed from the merger of Bandai and Namco on ...

. It is claimed to be the oldest amusement park in Japan. One of the unofficial mascots of the park is the Panda Car ().

History

Origins

Asakusa Hanayashiki which opened in 1853, at the end of 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 character ...

(1603-1867), is considered by many people as the oldest amusement park in Japan. In fact, the definition of an amusement park was unclear at that time. During the first two decades since the park opened, it was a botanical garden created by garden designer Morita Rokusaburo, where the main attractions were tree peonies and chrysanthemum work. The place was called ''Hanayashiki'' (), which means ''Flowery Mansion''. Around 1872 (the beginning of the

Meiji period 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 ...

), an amusement facility was established inside the park. From the Taisho era to the early Showa era, it was also known as also one of the leading zoos in Japan, and produced news such as the birth of a tiger quintuplet and the birth of Japan's first baby lion. The

Great Kanto earthquake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great ...

occurred in the same year. Many of the animals were killed in the subsequent fires while locked in their cages. One famous story from that event is the head of the park pouring water on the old elephant in an unsuccessful attempt to save its life. In 1930, “The Memorial of Birds and Animals” was erected for the animals that were burned to death because of the earthquake. The animals that survived were later sold to the Sendai City Zoo by 1935. The park was effectively closed. In 1939-40, the park was purchased by the Suda-cho Restaurant (), and the name was changed to ''Shokudo Yuenchi Asakusa Rakutenchi'' (). However, the park was resold to the Sho-chiku (), and the name became . Hanayashiki was demolished in 1944 in accordance with Japan's Air Defense Law (1937; revised 1941) during

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Building removal, or structure evacuation, was a process of creating

firebreak A firebreak or double track (also called a fire line, fuel break, fireroad and firetrail in Australia) is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebr ...

s to prevent fires from spreading during Allied air raids.

Post war

In 1947, the park rebuilt as operated under joint management by Tetsuo Amano () from ''Sho-chiku'' and Teiichi Yamada () from Togo Gorakuki (). In 1949, ''Togo Gorakuki'' became to sole operators in 1949, and the name was changed to ''Asakusa Hanayashiki'' (). ''Yashiki'' was changed from Chinese characters to Japanese characters. In 1953, the roller coaster began operation, and it was named "Yomiuri Rocket Coaster". This is the oldest roller coaster that exists in Japan today. In addition, the "Bee Tower" was built in 1960. These attractions became very famous. Before 1985 no admission fee was charged. Once inside the park, visitors would pay for each ride. However, the park would be disturbed regularly because anyone could enter the park freely. An example given would be a drunken person entering and ending up getting rowdy or sleeping, causing a public nuisance. Young people would also gather in large groups in front of a game arcade, causing the park to feel unsafe. Because of these situations, operators were unable to increase their profits and thus decided to set an admission fee from 1985 in order to make the park safe and more welcoming.

21st century

In 2004, the operator SuitesーOligo (formerly Toyo amusement machine) bankruptcy, into the "Club Rehabilitation (Japanese : Clubs Reorganization Law)" process, and as Asakusa local businesses Bandai provide operational support group, so that it's the Cape Department of Corporation subsidiary Hanayashiki (Japanese: Corporation took ya shi ki ) (formerly known as Corporation Puaza those have Bldg su) which receives light flower Yashiki right to operate from August 31. In September 2016, "Bee Tower" was and demolished to make room for ''Asakusa Hana Gekijyou'' (), which opened in April 2019. There is a theater that provides a variety of entertainment, including productions, concerts by popular musicians, and martial arts.

In popular culture

* 1986 - * 2020 -

References

External links

* {{Authority control Amusement parks in Japan Buildings and structures in Taitō 1853 establishments in Japan 19th century in Tokyo Bandai Namco Holdings subsidiaries Tourist attractions in Tokyo