The Oldest Zoo In Japan, Ueno Zoological Garden Is Not Only For Enjoying Animals

I introduced an unique exhibition being held in Ueno, Tokyo in my previous post on August 16th. Actually Ueno area has many museums, historical buildings and facilities for activities. It is one of popular recreation spot in Tokyo. What's more, many of the facilities are located in Ueno Park which is next to Ueno Station, so it's very convenient for visitors.

Ueno Park was originally a property of a big Buddhism temple, Ueno Kaneiji Temple, which I have introduced one of their buildings in my previous post. Kaneiji Temple had been one of the most powerful temple since it became a family temple of Shogun during Tokugawa Shogunate era.
After the shogunate government collapsed in 1867, Japan's first modern government owned some parts of Ueno Park. 

That's why the oldest zoo in Japan located in the Ueno Park. It was established in 1882 by Japanese government and is now managed by a public corporation. The official name of it is Ueno Zoological Gardens, but people usually call it just "Ueno Zoo".

Of course Ueno Zoo is a nice place to enjoy animals, but because of its historical background, people can also enjoy historical structures there. There is a remain of a tea ceremony house established by a historical Samurai lord named Takatora Todo as you can see in lower left hand side photo. Also a historical five-storied pagoda built in 1639 is inside of the Zoo.

These structures were already there when Japanese government tried to establish the Ueno Zoo and people concluded that it would be easier to secure/manage them if they are kept inside of the zoo because they were cultural important assets. Thus these historical structures were remained on their original places.

People thought it would be a better settlement, however they found a big problem later. That was about the separation of religion and politics. Since the zoo was a national zoo, people at that time thought a Buddhism pagoda was not proper to be there. Therefore people held a ceremony to separate the pagoda from Buddhism and removed all Buddha statues from it. 

Since then the pagoda is peacefully standing there, in the zoo. It might sound Ueno Zoo was too strict with rules back then? Perhaps they got more flexibility nowadays. Recently they are extending the business hours for people on summer vacation. So people can enjoy seeing pandas' dinner time and hippopotamuses' gargling in evening as shown in the upper photos. Also, the view of the pagoda would have different beauty at night!