Aoyama Cemetery

Aoyama Cemetery (青山霊園, Aoyama reien) is a cemetery in Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The cemetery is also famous for its cherry blossoms, and at the season of hanami, which many people would visit.

Aoyama Cemetery
青山霊園
Aoyama cemetery viewed from Roppongi Hills
Details
Established1874
Location
Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
CountryJapan
Coordinates
Size26.36 hectares (65.1 acres)
Find a GraveAoyama Cemetery
Cherry trees of Aoyama Cemetery
View inside the cemetery
Foreign section - Grave of Guido Verbeck.
Grave of Hidesaburō Ueno and monument to Hachikō (right stele).

History

The cemetery was originally the land of the Aoyama family of the Gujō clan (now Gujō, Gifu) in the province of Mino (now Gifu). Japan's first public cemetery was opened in 1874, and in the Meiji era was the main locations of foreigners' graves.[1]

The cemetery has an area of 263,564 m2.

Japanese section

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

Tateyama Branch

The cemetery also has a Tateyama branch, where Nagata Tetsuzan, Kimura Heitarō, and Sagara Sōzō are buried.

Grave of Hachikō

One of the cemetery's most famous graves is that of Hachikō, the faithful and dutiful dog whose statue adorns Shibuya Station, was buried alongside his two owners, Hidesaburō Ueno 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:

See also

References
  1. Minor Sights: Aoyama- Tokyo's only Foreigners' Cemetery
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