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Yanaka Cemetery

The burial place of the last shogun still maintains a Shitamachi atomosphere in bustling Tokyo.

By The Taphotourist

Whether one passes on or remains is all the same. That you can take no one with you is the only difference.

― Tokugawa Ieyasu

Yanaka Cemetery

Yanaka Cemetery

Yanaka Cemetery

Yanaka Cemetery is home to over 7,000 graves shaded by the often-visited cherry blossom trees that line the main path.

Yanaka Cemetery

While the best season to see Yakana is undoubtedly April, a winter visit offers a new perspective and a quiet stroll.

Yanaka Cemetery

Yanaka Cemetery

Dating back to the Meiji era in the mid-to-late 1800s, Yanaka houses the family of the 15 Tokugawa shoguns of Japan in a section away from public view.

Yanaka Cemetery

Yanaka Cemetery

Previously the property of a Buddhist temple, in 1872 Meiji authorities set aside a portion of the area for use as a public cemetery to accommodate the growing popularity of Shinto funerals.

Yanaka Cemetery

Today, thousands of visitors walk down Yanaka’s Sakura-dori in spring to take in the cherry blossoms and pay their respects.

Yanaka Cemetery

Footnotes

Photos are free for personal use with credit to me, Alexandria Huff, aka The Taphotourist.

FootNotes

Photos are free for personal use with credit to me, Alexandria Huff, aka The Taphotourist.

© 2026 The Taphotourist

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