Hibiya Park

History

Originally an inlet of the sea ran northwards to a cove at present-day Hibiya and Kokyo Gaien plaza, into which the Kanda River flowed. During the rule of the shogun Tokugawa Hidetada, the river was diverted to flow into the Sumida River, with the spoil from the diversion used to reclaim the cove at Hibiya.

The land was occupied by the estates of the Mōri clan and Nabeshima clan during the Edo period. It was used for army maneuvers during the Meiji period. It was converted to a park and opened to the public on June 1, 1903.

On September 5, 1905, a protest at the park against the Treaty of Portsmouth, which ended the Russo-Japanese War (1904−1905), erupted into the Hibiya riots. The major citywide riots lasted two days, with seventeen people being killed and 331 arrested, as well a large amount of property damage. The riots were against the terms of the treaty, which were lenient to Russia, but also against bureaucrats who refused to accept the will of the people on foreign policy.

The park is famous for the Shisei Kaikan (市政会館), a brick building built in Gothic style in 1929, which once housed the Domei Tsushin state wire service and its postwar successors Kyodo News and Jiji Press. The park is also home to the "Risky Ginkgo," a ginkgo tree that is about 500 years old and almost cost the park's designer his job when he fought to save the tree in 1901.

The park is also known for its open-air concert venue, Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall (日比谷野外音楽堂), commonly known as Yaon (野音), as well as for its tennis courts (for which reservations are hotly contested because of their proximity to the financial and government districts). World War II took a toll on the park when almost all the trees and fencing were used for the war effort.

The large fountain from 1961 that dominates the park is currently being replaced. The town hall plans to complete the demolition work by July 2025 and aims to complete the new fountain by the end of the year.

Surrounding buildings

• Attorneys' Hall (Japan Federation of Bar Associations headquarters)
• Fukoku Seimei Building
• Imperial Hotel, Tokyo
• Ministry of the Environment
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
• Ministry of Justice
• Mizuho Bank Building
• Nissay Theatre
• NTT Hibiya Building
• Shinsei Bank Building
• Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Building

Education

operates public elementary and junior high schools. Chiyoda Elementary School (千代田小学校) is the zoned elementary of Hibiya Park. There is a freedom of choice system for junior high schools in Chiyoda Ward, and so there are no specific junior high school zones.

Gallery

File:Autumn in the Hibiya Park (39834979803).jpg|One of the ponds in the park File:Hibiya Park02s3872.jpg|Hibiya Park Lake and Wisteria Grove File:Hibiya Park - sunny autumn day - 2023 Nov 27.webm|A few scenes inside the park on an autumn day, 2023 File:Hibiya Ongaku-Do Meiji Era.jpg|Ongaku-do, Hibiya Park, Tokyo, 1909 File:Hibiya Park - various - April 13 2019 sunny day.jpeg|Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall File:The Pelican Fountain in Hibiya Park, Tokyo.jpg|The Pelican Fountain File:Municipal Research Building 2.jpg|Tokyo Municipal Research Building File:Hibiya Park - Matsumotoro.jpg|Matsumoto-ro restaurant

References

References

1. Yoshimi, Shunya. (2024). "Tokyo Urbanism: From Hinterland to Kaiwai". World Scientific.
2. Kameda, Masaaki. (2013-06-01). "Hibiya Park celebrates first 110 years this weekend". The Japan Times Online.
3. Gordon, Andrew. (2014). "A modern history of Japan: from Tokugawa times to the present". OUP.
4. "23 Things to do in Hibiya Park".
5. "Hibiya Park | Japan Experience".
6. 日本放送協会. "東京「日比谷公園」の噴水 取り壊し本格的に始まる｜NHK 首都圏のニュース".
7. "区立小学校の通学区域". Chiyoda Board of Education.
8. "区立中学校の通学区域と学校選択". Chiyoda Board of Education.