Moon Pine at Ueno Park, part of the One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

One Hundred Famous Views of Edo is a series of Ukiyo-e prints by the Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858). The prints were first published in serialized form in 1856–59. Just watching these prints makes me wonder the beauty of Tokyo then with the green cover against the concrete existence of today. Many paintings, you can see Mount Fuji in the distance and this makes me lament my 21st century existence. I should have been in Japan in the “OLD” days. Nevertheless, there is this painting of Ueno Park, Moon Pine, a circular pine tree structure which has been recently restored to its 200 year old history and I went to check it out.Original Pine Tree Painting of Ueno ParkInspired by the Kiyomizu Dera of Kyoto, the pine formation is one which I had wanted to see for a long time, and the summer festival of 2015, I decided to take some snaps of this recreation at the evening blue hour time just before the sunset.Moon Pine in the dark at Ueno ParkThe Shinobazu Pond exists even today, but the green cover has been replaced by buildings. As per the story, the Pine tree was destroyed in a typhoon in the Meiji Era. Kiyomizu Hall of Kan’ei-ji, in the Ueno Park had this view and there was an effort taken to restore the Pine trees unique formation. Not many artists today can create that healthy circular formation today and efforts from an artist in Akabane, the Moon Pine was recreated in 2012.Moon Pine At Ueno ParkYou can see Benten-do Temple with a blue roof in the distance and Shinobazu Pond surrounding the temple. Its an interesting sight to see in the Cherry Blossom season with beautiful flowers that are in bloom all around Kiyomizu Kannon-do Temple.Cherry Blossom from the Moon PineThe beautiful recreation stands today in Ueno park and a highly recommended spot in the evenings. The original picture is also shown at the bottom and the details of this painting are written in Japanese on a board on the right half of the below picture.
Moon Pine in the evenings with the well lit hall of the temple in the backdropWalked over to the Bentendo temple in the distance next to the Shinobazu Pond and the crowds were all gone and a blissful evening with the sound of birds and the cool breeze of summer. Total bliss in the metropolis
Benten-do at the Ueno Park around the Shinobazu PondLocated just outside the Kesei Ueno Station, refer the Google Maps below

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