The Kan'ei-ji five-story pagoda

The five-story pagoda located today inside the Ueno Zoological Garden was once part of the Kan’ei-ji Temple, built by the Tokugawa Shogunate to protect the Edo Castle against evil spirits.

The Temple and its adjacent buildings were once part of a big complex, occupying the hills surrounding the Shinobazu Lake at north and east and the area where today is located the JR Ueno station.

The Temple was destroyed in July 1868 during the Battle of Ueno, when the entire Ueno area was completely devastated:

Ueno after the Battle of Ueno

Just the five-story pagoda, the The Bell of Time and the Toshougu Shrine survived until today.

Pagoda cu cinci trepte care se află astăzi în grădina zoologică din Ueno a aparţinut templului Kan’ei-ji, construit de shogunatul Tokugawa pentru protecţia castelului Edo.

Templul şi clădirile adiacente făceau parte dintr-un complex care ocupa înălţimile din nordul şi estul lacului Shinobazu şi porţiunea pe care se află astăzi staţia Ueno.

Templul a fost distrus în iulie 1868, în Bătălia de la Ueno, când toată zona Ueno a fost complet devastată:

Ueno after the Battle of Ueno

Doar pagoda cu 5 etaje, The Bell of Time şi Toshougu Shrine au supravieţuit până astăzi.