Morishita 

 

Morishita Station lies on the Toei Oedo and Toei Shinjuku Subway Lines in the Morishita district of Koto Ward.

 

Koto is a merchant and a working class ward in eastern Tokyo. The district of Morishita , being part of it, is a simple place with rows of apartment blocks and narrow streets. But what is special about the place is its unique blend of the new and the old. The apartment blocks are all new but in between are also some of the best preserved streets, shops, and temples of the Edo period. Just like its neighboring district, Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, which has some noteworthy museums, Morishita, too, has its fair share. Among the best known of the museums here is Matsuo Basho Museum, located 7 minutes walk from Morishita Station.

 

Matsuo Basho Museum

Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), born Matsuo Kinsaku, and also known by his samurai name of Matsuo Munefusa, was a travel writer and a poet of the early Edo period. He is best known as the poet who brought haiku to the level of an art. Basho originally lived in the nearby area of Fukagawa, but moved to Morishita in 1680 as he wanted a quieter place to write in. He made his hermitage, named Basho Iori Hermitage, in a place along Sumida River between Shin-Ohashi and Kiyosu Bridges. It is in this same hermitage that Matsuo Basho Museum is located.

 

The small Matsuo Basho Museum exhibits all materials and artifacts related to Basho and his writings. Of particular mention are the detailed maps that Basho used for his travels on foot in the then under-developed region of Honshu. The museum also serves as a literary center for research and regularly holds meetings on the art of haiku.

 

Matsuo Basho Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except Mondays.

 

In the garden of the museum there is a small shrine. In a nearby back street there is the Basho Inari Shrine.

 

Basho Inari Jinja Shrine

 

It is said that after Basho wrote his famous frog haiku, he was given a stone frog by one of his disciples. Basho treasures it so much that he placed it near his hermitage. With time, it was lost, but re-appeared after a typhoon in 1917. The local citizens, in honor of Basho, built a shrine at the location and dedicated it to Basho's spirit and to the god Inari. Unfortunately the shrine was burnt down during the WWII air raids, and was rebuilt in its present form in 1975. Replicas of the frog have also been placed around the shrine. Basho Inari Jinja Shrine has been designated historic site by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

 

Matsuo Basho Memorial Park

Just a few meters from the shrine is Matsuo Basho Memorial Park. This small park is an elevated one and is reached after climbing a short flight of rugged stone stairs. On reaching this terrace garden, one cannot but hold one's breath at the beautiful scene it offers of the river below with Kiyosu Bridge spanning it. In the center of the park is a bronze statue of Basho placed on top of a pedestal. All around are bamboo and banana trees and a large variety of other plants. Several Basho-themed sketches have also been placed around the park.

 

Safe and Key Museum

 

The Safe and Key Museum is one of the other small museums located in the area that is worth a visit. This museum is dedicated to safes and keys and has a good collection of them. On display are both contemporary and traditional Japanese locks and keys as well as safes and chests. Of special mention are the traditional Japanese chests of the 17 th century, called omotejo. These chests only need keys to open them as they automatically lock because of the jamb-plate and button system incorporated into the chest itself.

 

The museum, which is located just 3 minutes from Morishita Station, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every 1 st and 3 rd Saturday and Sunday of the month.