Katsu Kaishū Dies and Is Buried at Senzoku Pond

Katsu Kaishū died on January 19, 1899. He had wished to be buried on land beside Senzoku Pond, where he acquired property in 1890 and built a villa used for gatherings with former shogunal associates.

After the funeral on January 25, his coffin was brought from Aoyama to the pond and buried there. The burial initially had no gravestone. Relatives and friends subsequently agreed to use a five-part Buddhist tower design that Kaishū himself had drawn.

A stonemason named Suzuki completed the stone in November 1899. Its lettering was supplied by Tokugawa Iesato, successor to the main Tokugawa house.

A surviving water basin records fifty-six donors, including Enomoto Takeaki. Family and former shogunal associates thus furnished the burial place after Kaishū’s death. His wife Tami’s grave was transferred there after the Second World War; the paired graves seen today were not both established in 1899.