It has been about a month since the last article was updated. In November, we visited at the Edo Tokyo Museum and had a great time there. (First article is here.)

Today we will introduce you one of the most cultural Shitamachi towns called “Ryogoku”. Needless to point out, Ryogoku is very famous for its sumo related attractions, such as the Ryogoku Kokugikan, many sumo stables and chanko (sumo wrestler stew) restaurants. (More information is here.)
In a cold winter day, one of our staffs went to Ryogoku to find more about the town. There are not only sumo related places, but also hotter places which you must see in Ryogoku.

① Ryogoku Fire Works Museum

First, we recommend you “the Ryogoku Fire Works Museum”. It takes just 5 minutes’ walk from the south side of Ryogoku station. In the museum, Mr. Suzuki who has HANABI KANSHOSHI (a professional observer for fireworks) tells about a historical relationship between the Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival and Ryogoku. (More about the Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival is here.)

The Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival can be tracked back to 1733. The reason for its origin was that Tokugawa Yoshimune decided to mourn observances for the dead who suffered from the economic crisis in 1732. He used gunpowder which was used for killing people as fireworks for the peaceful entertainment performance. At first, the fireworks were just a piece of observances, but it was continued each year and became the Ryogoku Kawabiraki Fireworks Festival.

(In 1978, the name of festival changed to Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival.)

Also, Mr. Suzuki told that one of the most highlights is those launching site. Because of fireworks are launched on a small boat, the launching site is very narrow, so they can’t help launching small balls repeatedly. You can enjoy the varieties of directions. We thank Mr. Suzuki for telling us a very interesting story.

① Sumo Museum

(Entrance to Ryogoku Kokugikan.)

Second, the Sumo Museum is as rare and small as the Ryogoku Fire Works Museum. It is in Ryogoku Kokugikan and located in the north side of Ryogoku station. The Sumo museum was based on the materials gathered by Sakai Tadamasa and created to protect historical heritage of Sumo which is the Japanese national sports.

(The museum has a wide range of materials of Sumo. )

(Keshomawashi.)

(Harumafuji is performing his 1st yokozuna ring-entering ceremony in September 28, 2012.)

For example, 3700 sumo Nishiki-e (multi-colored woodlock prints), 500 sumo dolls, Banzuke (official ranking list), and Keshomawashi (a silk belt with a heavily embroidered large apron with thick tassels worn by upper ranked wrestlers).

Some are made in the past, and others are created lately. These items are displayed in different themes of exhibitions divided in six times a year. The hottest materials are successive Yokozuna’s pictures (highest rank in sumo) on the wall. An English pamphlet called “GRAND SUMO RYOGOKU KOKUGIKAN HANDBOOK” is also available in the museum.

In the left side of the Ryogoku Kokugikan, you can buy some original sumo gifts in Sumo Shop.

A shop assistant said Sumo wrestler figurines were most popular. Wearing Hakuho mask and you will be Yokozuna Hakuho!

③ Old Yasuda Garden

If you feel tired, we will recommend you a Meiji Period-style garden called Old Yasuda Garden. Usually, you may listen to birds singing and feel the warms of the sun.

But, the day of this interview, it was too cold and rainy to take a walk in the garden. We are convinced that you will enjoy the garden when weather is good.

All of those three places are within ten minutes walking distance. Surprisingly, they are all free. After the interview, I had a question why Ryogoku has such interesting places. The answer is that Ryogoku was once a city like present Shinjyuku in the Edo era. People enjoyed eating foods, seeing sumo and fireworks as daily entertainments.

Taking the Tokyo Mizube Line, you can go to the opposite side of Sumida River where is near Asakusa. Next article will be started from the Tokyo Mizube Line Ryogoku station.
Thank you for reading our blog. We will continue to introduce three more hot places in Downtown Tokyo. Next upload will be in January 2014. Please keep checking this blog!

References

・”Ryogoku Area.” Ryogoku Area. Japan National Tourism Organization, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.
＜http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/regional/tokyo/ryogoku.html＞.

・”Sumida River Fireworks Festival.” Sumida River Fireworks Festival. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.
＜http://sumidagawa-hanabi.com/index_eg.html＞.

　　　　　Today, we will introduce you to the Edo-Tokyo Museum that is one of the best city-history museums in Tokyo. It is located in Ryogoku district, and three minutes’ walk from the West Exit of Ryogoku station.

( Use the signboard as your guide when you visit the Edo-Tokyo Museum.)

As you enter the museum, you will be surprised at the replica of the “Nihonbashi”. ( Nihonbashi means “Japan Bridge” in English. ) It is the mile zero marker for Japanese national highway network. Not only Nihonbashi, but also varieties of replicas are exhibited in the museum, such as “Nakamura-Za” (Kabuki theater).

The museum is famous for its enjoyable ways to show visitors the time from Edo period to present-day Tokyo. Almost 400 year’s history is separately exhibited and you can compare the Edo zone with the Tokyo zone (starting at the conversion from the Edo Era) at the same time. In this article, we will focus on the Edo zone. There are three keys to spend the greatest time through the Edo zone.

① Experiencing: the Lifestyle of the People

You can enjoy experiencing the life style of the people.

You have chance to become Edo fireman called “hikeshi”. Each group of hikeshi uses his own matoi to notify the fire near. Matoi is like a team flag with the symbol of each group of hikeshi. You can feel weights of matoi. Be careful for your back as the matoi is too heavy to lift up!

②Seeing: the Figurines and Life-Sized Figures

You can enjoy seeing the figurines and life-sized figures.

Crossing the Nihonbashi, many visitors will be surprised to see the figurines and life-sized figures of an Edo town. 

You can use binoculars to zoom the figurines. It is sure that you will get excited for seeing details of the figurines and surprised at traditional Japanese techniques to make those figurines.

③Shopping: the Omiyage Gift Shop

The Edo-Tokyo Museum has its own gift shop called “MUSEUM SHOP”. Some gifts are only available in the museum. For foreign visitors, we will recommend you “tenugui” (Japanese hand towel), a thin Japanese handmade towel made of cotton and many kinds of Sumo wrestling goods.

Varieties of tenugui with interesting Japanese phrase.

Because of the museum is located in Ryogoku where is very famous for Ryogoku Kokugikan (Ryogoku Sumo Hall), many Sumo wrestling goods are available, such as printed T-shirts, and Sumo Wrestling Magnet sets. 

In this article, we have mainly introduced the Edo zone. In addition to the Edo zone, the Tokyo zone will welcome you to learn more about the city history. (Also, there are often special exhibits.) We will strongly recommend the Edo Tokyo Museum for whoever wants to experience “back to the past” in Tokyo

 Thank you for reading our blog. We will continue to introduce four more hot places in Downtown Tokyo. Next upload will be on December. Please keep checking this blog! 

References

・”Edo-Tokyo Museum.” Edo-Tokyo Museum. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.

<http://www.edo-tokyo-museum.or.jp/english/>.

・”Japan Hikeshi (Firemen) Preserving Foundation.” Japan Hikeshi (Firemen) Preserving Foundation. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <http://www.nihonhikeshihozonkai.org/english/>.

・”Kabuki.” japan-guide.com. Web. 27 Nov. 2013. <http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2090.html>.