Time Travel Shinkyogoku (3)

Chapter 2: The History of the Opening of Shinkyogoku

(1) Haibutsu Kishaku (Abolish Buddhism and Destroy Shaka) during the Meiji Restoration and the Government Seizure of Temple and Shrine Lands

The deterioration of various temples, already devastated by the Great Fire of Genji, was further exacerbated by the worsening public order at the end of the Edo period, the relocation of the capital to Tokyo during the Meiji Restoration, and the storm of the Haibutsu Kishaku movement. In the autumn of Keio 3, immediately after the Taisei Hokan (restoration of imperial rule), Sakamoto Ryoma and Nakaoka Shintaro were assassinated at the Omiya inn, and the Toba-Fushimi War began at the start of the new year. It was a turbulent era, and the Teramachi area, which remained a burnt-out field, saw fewer visitors and continued to decline. In the autumn of the following year, the Emperor moved to Tokyo, and administrative agencies left Kyoto, causing the bustle of the city to gradually fade away. The devastated temples leased their precincts to theaters and the like for restoration, but it was far from the prosperity of the past. Moreover, triggered by the Shinto and Buddhism Separation Order issued that same year, the Haibutsu Kishaku movement continued until around Meiji 5, pushing temples to the brink of extinction. Then, in Meiji 4, the First Land Seizure Order was issued, followed by the Second in Meiji 8, and the temple and shrine lands that had been recognized until then were confiscated (agechi). For example, out of the original precinct of over 6,000 tsubo, Seigan-ji Temple had 4,800 tsubo of land confiscated, and its sub-temples were consolidated, leaving the Teramachi area on the verge of ruin.

(2) The Opening of Shinkyogoku and Land Sales by Masanao Makimura in Meiji 5

Since there are no surviving official documents from the Kyoto Prefectural government regarding the opening of Shinkyogoku-dori, the history and process of its opening must be inferred from maps created at the time of the land seizures and books that recorded the situation. However, the prevailing theory is that Masanao Makimura (later the second governor of the prefecture), who became the chief administrator of Kyoto Prefecture in Meiji 4, took the lead in developing the government-seized land, removing earthen walls to cut through the temple precincts from Sanjo to Shijo, and opened Shinkyogoku-dori in Meiji 5. It is also said that he tried to sell the land along the street as commercial property at 50 sen per tsubo, but initially struggled to find buyers, so Makimura requested the help of Bunjiro Bando, a leader of the yashi (itinerant performers/peddlers), to promote the land sales.

Seigan-ji Temple Side Story: 'The Grave of Kunimatsu'

Toyotomi Kunimatsu, born to Toyotomi Hideyori and his concubine Icha, entered Osaka Castle at the age of 6 and met his father, Hideyori, for the first time. The following year, the Summer Siege of Osaka occurred, and although he exchanged a parting cup with Hideyori and escaped the castle with Rokurozaemon Tanaka and his nurse, according to the 'Sunpu-ki,' he was captured by the Tokugawa side at the Noninbashi Bridge in Fushimi. This was not the Fushimi in Kyoto, but rather the area near the Higashiyokobori River close to Osaka Castle, which was called Fushimi-cho, so it is likely he was captured there. Afterward, Kunimatsu was handed over to the Kyoto Shoshidai Katsushige Itakura, taken to Hidetada Tokugawa at Nijo Castle, and after being paraded through the city, he was beheaded at Rokujo-gawara along with Morichika Chosokabe, who had also been hiding in Kyoto before being captured. He was only 8 years old. It is said that Rokurozaemon Tanaka also volunteered to be executed at the same time, and only the nurse was spared. The person who retrieved Kunimatsu's remains left at the execution site and buried them at Chikurin-in, a sub-temple of Seigan-ji, was Matsu no Maru-dono (Ryuko Kyogoku), who was also a concubine of the late Hideyoshi. Matsu no Maru-dono was the daughter of Takayoshi Kyogoku and Maria Kyogoku, and a cousin of the three Asai sisters (Yodo, Hatsu, and Go). She is famous for the anecdote about competing with Yodo-gimi at the Daigo Cherry Blossom Viewing, and she and the Kyogoku family were the patrons for the construction of the halls of Seigan-ji when it moved from Ichijo-Ogawa (Moto-Seiganji-cho, Kamigyo-ku) to Sanjo-Teramachi. After her death, Matsu no Maru-dono was buried next to Kunimatsu in the Chikurin-in graveyard. As time passed, their graves remained in the Seigan-ji precincts, which had been devastated by the Great Fire of Genji. Even after the precincts were seized by the government in Meiji 5 and Shinkyogoku was opened, and as more time passed and the site of Chikurin-in became a theater called Ebisu-za in the mid-Meiji period, a memorial tower for Kunimatsu still stood in front of the theater. In Meiji 31, the Toyokuni Shrine on Amidagamine was restored, and 13 years later, in Meiji 44, the memorial towers for Kunimatsu and Matsu no Maru-dono were finally moved to Taikodaira on the hillside of Amidagamine, where Kunimatsu's grandfather, Hideyoshi, rests. Their memorial towers stand side by side on the left side of the long stone steps that begin at Taikodaira, and when you press your hands together in prayer at these rarely visited towers, you cannot help but feel that Kunimatsu, who met such a tragic end, has finally found eternal peace. The 'Monument to the Relocation of the Graves of Prince Rosei and Lady Juho' standing nearby describes the history of the relocation of the graves. Prince Rosei refers to Kunimatsu, and Lady Juho refers to Matsu no Maru-dono.

Monument to the Relocation of the Graves of Prince Rosei and Lady Juho

(Rosei-koshi oyobi Juho-fujin senbo no hi) describes the history of the relocation of the graves. Prince Rosei refers to Kunimatsu, and Lady Juho refers to Matsu no Maru-dono.

Side Story: 'Ebisu-za'

It was in Meiji 9 that 'Ebisu-za' opened as a theater specializing in mimetic kyogen on the site of Chikurin-in, which had originally been a sub-temple of Seigan-ji. Ebisu-za later changed into a theater for Kabuki, and Kamekichi Shirai, the manager of the Ebisu-za shop, was the father-in-law of Matsutaro Shirai of Shochiku. In other words, Ebisu-za was a theater connected to Shochiku (the brothers Matsutaro and Takejiro Otani), which would later dominate the Japanese entertainment industry. In Meiji 28, Takejiro Otani became the promoter (shiuchi) for the Sakai-za (later Kabuki-za), which opened in a theater in the Shinkyogoku dojo within the precincts of Konren-ji Temple. The entire Shinkyogoku area became a major base for plays and Kabuki, and later transformed into a street of movie theaters. As time went on, Ebisu-za became the Shochiku Theater in Showa 13, and in Showa 29, it became the Kyoto Piccadilly Theater, remaining as a movie theater until Heisei 13. From Showa 42, Sakae Super (Daiei Gourmet City Kyogoku Store) occupied the basement to the second floor of this building, thriving as a supermarket closely tied to the lives of the neighborhood until July of Heisei 26, but it has now been rebuilt as a hotel (Hotel Gracery).

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