Site of the Kaya no Miya Residence

The stretch of land between here and Karasuma Street once held the residence of Prince Asahiko, fourth son of a Fushimi imperial line, who spent much of his life as a Tendai Buddhist priest before leaving the priesthood to support Emperor Komei directly. A large Japanese torreya tree on the grounds gave the prince his nickname, Kaya no Miya. During the political turmoil leading to the Meiji Restoration, he advocated for reconciliation between the imperial court and the shogunate, which put him at odds with loyalists who wanted foreign expulsion and imperial primacy. He was exiled to Hiroshima in 1868 and later pardoned. A stone monument on the site records his service to the emperor.