The three-story pagoda stood quietly in the tranquil precincts of Tozen-ji Temple

Kogakuin Temple in Takanawa was the former residence of the Prussian Minister at the end of the Edo period, and Tozen-ji Temple, which I came to at this time, was the British legation at the end of the Edo period. The presence of foreign legations in Shinagawa at the end of the Edo period was probably due in part to the fact that the shogunate had promised to build legations of various countries in the Shinagawa Gotenyama area. The Gotenyama legation, which was never built, is said to have been built in the Western style with a deep moat and tall fences around it to protect against attacks by the expulsionists.

It was the end of the Edo period (1603-1867), when the campaign to exclude the barbarians was in full swing. Tozen-ji Temple was also affected by this movement. The British legation was located there, and the temple was attacked twice in less than a year by the exclusionist faction.

Incidentally, Shinsaku Takasugi, Genzui Kusaka, and Hirobumi Ito also attacked the British legation, but not at Tozen-ji Temple. The British legation was under construction at Shinagawa Gotenyama. As a result of the fire caused by Takasugi and others, the plan for the Gotenyama legation was abandoned, and the British, concerned about the security in Edo, decided to set up a legation in Yokohama. If you think that this is the same as the Japanese embassy in Afghanistan, where security was poor throughout the land, being relocated to Doha, Qatar, you can see that security in Edo at the end of the Edo period was quite bad.

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