Ueno Park Map 
In the southwestern corner of Ueno Park, near Shinobazu Pond, sits Toshogu Kyu (capital illumination government shrine), dedicated to the first Tokugawa Shogun (general), Tokugawa Ieyasu. Built in 1627 in accordance with the Ieyasu's dying wish, Toshogu Shrine has survived far longer than did the autocratic Tokugawa regime and Ieyasu's progeny. Neither regal or glamourous, the shrine has survived the Battle of Ueno in 1868 (the last stand of the Tokugawa shogunate), the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake, and the wartime firebombing of Tokyo in 1945, and survives today as a vital, and visible, link between feudal Edo and modern Tokyo.
As one exits the shrine, there is a large board upon which are inscribed in kanji the set of guidelines Ieyasu attempted to live by:
- Life is like walking along a long road shouldering heavy load; there is no need to hurry;
- One who treats difficulties as the normal state of affairs will never be discontented;
- Patience is the source of eternal peace; treat anger as an enemy;
- Harm will befall one who knows only success and has never experienced failure;
- Blame yourself rather than others;
- It is better not to reach than to go too far.
(Above:) Toshogu Ueno Tokyo.
The long approach to the shrine from the park grounds, ca. 1910.
(Above:) Cherry Blossom of Toshogu Shrine Uyeno Tokyo. Visitors pass the tombstones memorializing the Tokugawa shoguns.
(Above:) Ueno Toshogu.