Just a few minutes from the iconic Tokyo view spot near Ochanomizu Station stands a historic temple dedicated to Confucius, Yushima Seido (湯島聖堂). Established in 1690 during the Edo period by Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the fifth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, the temple also served as a training institution for Tokugawa officials.
After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Yushima Seido became a cornerstone of Japan’s modern education system. Within its grounds, the government established institutions that would later evolve into the Ministry of Education, the University of Tokyo, Ochanomizu University, the University of Tsukuba, as well as several libraries and museums. In fact, the Yushima Seido exhibition – held from March 10 to April 30, 1872, in the temple’s Taiseiden Hall – marked the beginning of what would become the Tokyo National Museum, Japan’s oldest national museum. The exhibition displayed imperial artworks and scientific specimens collected by the Ministry of Education’s Museum Department.
Together with Yushima Tenjin, which is also located in Bunkyo ward, Yushima Seido attracts many students who come to pray for academic success, especially during exam season.
Within the Yushima Seido grounds stands a 4.57-meter-tall, 1.5-ton bronze statue of Confucius, donated in 1975 by the Lions Club of Taipei. It is recognized as the largest bronze statue of Confucius in the world.
photos © Japanbyweb.com, 10/2025
From Ochanomizu Station on the JR Chuo Line, exit through the Hijiribashi Exit, cross the Hijiribashi Bridge, and you’ll find the temple on your right.