Yushima Seido Temple

The fifth shogun, Tsunayoshi Tokugawa, built the temple in 1690 for the promotion of Confucianism. The Yushima Temple originated when Koshibyo (the building that worships Confucius, the founder of Confucianism) and Kajuku (the government-backed school operated by a scholar out of his home), at the private residence of the Hayashi family in the Ueno Shinobigaoka area, were moved to the current location. In 1797, the Shoheizaka School, known as the school directly managed by the shogunate, opened. The education of Confucianism came to an end when the Ministry of Education was placed there in 1872. However, the first museum in Japan, the first library in Japan, Shojaku-kan, and Tokyo Koto Shihan Gakko (Tokyo Higher Normal (i.e., education) School) were established thereafter, thus inheriting the tradition as the place of study, and the area has been recognized as the birthplace of modern Japanese education. Most of the buildings were burnt down after the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923; new buildings were built using reinforced concrete in 1935, and the black-lacquered temple retains its current state, which projects a dignified atmosphere. It is a two-minute walk from the JR (Japan Railways) Ochanomizu Station.