Minami-Shinagawa Higashi-Oi Course

In this issue, we introduce a course that takes you through Minami-Shinagawa and Higashi-Oi, which once thrived as coastal fishing communities. As you explore these two neighborhoods, try imagining what life was like here long ago.

Inquiries: Cultural Assets Subsection, General Affairs Section
(Tel: 03-5742-6839, Fax: 03-5742-6890)

MAP 1

Zemusu Hill

Located along the road from Oimachi Station to Dai-Ichi Keihin Avenue, Zemusu Hill was once much steeper. During the Meiji Era, an Englishman named John Mathews James (“Zemusu”) paid to have it graded into a gentler slope, and so it got its name.

Location: 5 and 6 Minami-Shinagawa

MAP 2

Takamura Chieko Monument

Partway up Zemusu Hill is the former site of the hospital that cared for Takamura Chieko, wife of poet Takamura Kotaro. There, you can find a monument to “Lemon Elegy,” the elegy he wrote for her at the end of her life.

Location:6-7 Minami-Shinagawa

MAP 3

Sendai Hill

Sendai Hill is located along the road from Aomono-yokocho Station to Oimachi Station. Roof tiles with the family crest of the Sendai Domain’s Date clan and a Meiji Era miso brewery were discovered here during an archeological dig started in 1986.

Location:4 Higashi-Oi to 5 Minami-Shinagawa

MAP 4

Yamauchi Toyoshige (Yodo) Gravesite

Yamauchi Toyoshige, the lord of the Tosa Domain (modern-day Kochi Prefecture) during the end of the Edo Period, is said to have had a great influence on the shogunate as a pioneer of the Meiji Restoration. His tomb has a unique shape, with a round burial mound and a tombstone.

Location:4-8 Higashi-Oi
Hours:9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Closed during the yearend/ New Year’s holidays.

Reference: Shinagawa History Tours (in Japanese only)

Start Oimachi Station

About 8 minutes

0.6km

❶ Zemusu Hill

About 1 minute

0.1km

❷ Takamura Chieko Monument

About 7 minutes

0.5km

❸ Sendai Hill

About 10 minutes

0.7km

❹ Yamauchi Toyoshige (Yodo) Gravesite

About 3 minutes

0.2km

Goal Samezu Station

Let’s check out some of Shinagawa Historical Museum’s cultural properties!

Sendai Miso Ceramic Pot

Discovered during an archeological dig, this ceramic pot was used to store Sendai miso. It was found along with a cauldron and other related instruments used to make miso between the Edo Period and Meiji Era, providing clues about how miso was produced at the time.

■Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (the entrance closes at 4:30 p.m.)
■Closed: Mondays (or the next weekday if Monday is a national holiday) and during the yearend/New Year’s holidays.
Note: The museum may be closed on days other than those listed above.
■Admission: 100 yen
(50 yen for elementary and junior high school students)
Note: Admission is free for elementary and junior high school students residing in or enrolled in a school in Shinagawa, people over the age of seventy, and people with disabilities.
■Inquiries: Shinagawa Historical Museum
(Tel: 03-3777-4060, Fax: 03-3778-2615)

Please scan here for the museum’s website.