Culture and History Around Onarimon: Zojoji, Shiba Park and Tokyo Tower

The Onarimon area contains an unusually dense concentration of historical and cultural resources. Zojoji in Shiba Park 4-chome is a major Jodo Buddhist temple with roughly 600 years of history and is closely associated with Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Tokugawa shogunate. The neighboring Shiba Park dates from the early period of Japan's modern public-park system and today frames well-known views combining temple architecture and Tokyo Tower. Minato City designates the surrounding area as the Shiba Park Special Landscape Formation District and requires consideration of the historic and cultural setting around Tokyo Tower and Zojoji in development and land-use planning. The name Onarimon itself also reflects the historical relationship with Zojoji. Minato Library, one minute from the station, adds a public cultural facility. The juxtaposition of rapidly redeveloping Toranomon and Atago with the temple and park landscape gives the district a distinctive historical depth.