Zemusuzaka Street – Pagoda Trees and a British Buddhist Legacy
Zemusuzaka Street is one of Shinagawa’s most atmospheric slopes — a residential incline lined with Japanese pagoda trees and steeped in Meiji-era maritime history. At first glance, it’s just a tree-lined hill. But look deeper, and you’ll find it named after one of the most remarkable foreigners ever to live in Tokyo: Captain John Mathews James.
⚓ Shinagawa’s Captain John Mathews James
Born in Cornwall in 1838, John Mathews James arrived in Japan in the 1860s via Hong Kong and Jardine Matheson trading ships. Over the next four decades, he helped build the foundations of the Imperial Japanese Navy, taught navigation, and delivered some of the earliest British-built warships to Japan. His reputation as “the most remarkable Briton the Japanese Navy ever had in its service” was earned through a mix of discipline, naval genius, and eccentric charm.
James settled in Shinagawa, building a large house on a steep hill once known as Sengenzaka. He paid to regrade the slope at his own expense to ease the burden on foot traffic and horses. In gratitude, local residents renamed the road Zemusuzaka (“James Slope”). Despite efforts during WWII to rename it, the title endured.
Even more remarkably, James became a devout Nichiren Buddhist — long before it was fashionable for foreigners to do so. He was initiated in 1880, attended services, translated Buddhist texts, and even hosted a variety of prominent Japanese and foreign guests at his hilltop home, from samurai to spiritualists. When he died in 1908, he was cremated and his ashes were interred at Kuonji Temple on Mount Minobu, close to Nichiren’s own grave.
🌳 Zemuzaka – Pagoda Trees and Quiet Paths
The slope itself winds uphill past modern apartments, quiet houses, and temples. The Japanese pagoda trees (enju) lining the road are prized for their shade and symbolic longevity. In summer, they form a green canopy. In autumn, their leaves carpet the pavement in gold. It’s a rare slope where history, greenery, and mystery walk side by side.
🧭 Visitor Information
Address: Near 6-chome Minami-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-0004
Best time to visit: Early morning or late afternoon for dappled light and peaceful surroundings
Admission: Free – its a road.
Where is it?
| what3words | ///relaxed.fenced.kinks |
| latitude longitude | 35.6119722 139.7041055 |
| Nearest station(s) | Aomonoyokocho Station (Keikyū Main Line) Shimbamba (Keikyū Main Line) Oimachi Station (Keihin-Tohoku, Oimachi, Rinkai lines) |
| Nearest public conveniences | Futsukaichi Park |
Show me a sign.
Towards the bottom of the slope near a bus stop on the west side of the road.
Withervee says…
The slope is named after a Cornish Buddhist naval officer who was so popular the locals renamed the hill he payed to have fixed. That’s not just history — that’s a character arc. I’ve written longform bio.
The only other European who is still memorialized in a Tokyo place-name is the Dutch adventurer Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn (c.1560-1623). The Yaesu district near present-day Tokyo Station takes its name from ‘Yayosu’, a Japanese corruption of his name.
Anyway, the trees on the street… I’ve seen them described as both The Japanese Pagoda Tree (Styphnolobium japonicum), also known as the Chinese Scholar Tree, and the Black Locust Tree (Robinia pseudoacacia). But which are they?
Site Character
- Lifestyle 生活 (Seikatsu): ✔️
- Historical Significance 歴史 (Rekishi): ✔️
- Atmosphere/Natural Features 風土 (Fūdo): ✔️
Who in their right mind would vote for this?
- Buddhist sea captains
- Sloped-street lovers
- Naval historians
- Tree-huggers
- Anyone named John, Mathew or James
Further reading
Britain and Japan: Biographical Portraits, Vol. VIII
