Ueno Station Walk - Part 3: Do you know "Saigo-san of Ueno"?

  • Tokyo
  • Sightseeing
Statue of Takamori Saigo, taken November 23, 2021
A bronze statue of Saigo-san with his dog. Since it is famous, many of you may have seen it before. This statue is located near the entrance of Ueno Onshi Park.

The artist is the sculptor Takamura Koun. The dog "Tsun" with him was created by Sadayuki Goto, a well-known horse sculptor.

Why is there a bronze statue of Saigo-san from Kagoshima in Ueno?

The Ueno War is said to have been the battle that ended the Edo Period and started the Meiji Period. The Shogitai, an army of the former shogunate, holed up in the mountains of Ueno, was attacked by the new government forces led by the Satsuma clan led by Saigo Takamori, and the Choshu and Tosa clans. The statue was erected here in Ueno, named after the place where this war took place.

Is Mr. Saigo walking his dog?

Mr. Saigo is a great man at the end of the Edo period, but he looks very rough. Is he taking a walk with his favorite tsun?
Look closely at the waist of Mr. Saigo. He is hanging a string with a straw-like thing on the end. This is a tool for catching rabbits. He is hunting rabbits with his dog. The large Saigou-san actually went rabbit hunting to lose weight...!
If you look closely at the dog's tsun, it looks somewhat like a horse, doesn't it? You can catch a glimpse of the fact that this is a work that only Sadayuki Goto, who was good at sculpting horses, could have created.
Ueno Onshi Park, photo taken November 23, 2021.

The autumn foliage has passed its peak and we can now feel the coming of winter in Ueno Onshi Park. When you visit the park for a walk, please observe "Mr. Saigo of Ueno" up close. There is also a grave of "Shogitai" behind the bronze statue of Mr. Saigo.

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