Ancestral Connections: Nishimachi and the Matsukata Family Tree

Grade 9 students visit Aoyama Cemetery and meet with a member of the Matsukata Family.

The first visit by Grade 9 students to Aoyama Cemetery to pay respects at Miss Taneko (Tané) Matsukata’s grave and the graves of the Matsukata family took place on October 11, 2021. The purpose of this visit was not only to extend student knowledge and understanding of our school’s heritage, our founder, and her family, but also to provide a personal and long-lasting connection to the school for grade 9 students, who would shortly become alumni of Nishimachi International School themselves.

Following the success of this first visit, Head of School,Karen O’Neill, introduced the Grade 9 advisors to Mr. Shichirō and Mrs. Yukiko Matsukata, who currently oversee the Matsukata family history and the family o-haka (grave) in Aoyama Cemetery. They were kind enough to meet our students at the o-haka and Mr. Matsukata told them about the family members buried there, and introduced a few fascinating stories about the contributions the Matsukata family has made to modernizing Japan.

We hope that these annual visits will continue to provide future Grade 9 students with invaluable lessons in the history of our school and the modernization of Japan.

Andrew R. Deane and Hiromi Narita Nishimachi Faculty, Grade 9 Advisory

Harry

青山霊園へのトリップは新鮮その物だった。僕 は韓国ではよくお墓を訪れる機会があったのだ が、日本に来てからは行けなくなり、お墓に行 くことは滅多に無くなった。青山霊園というお 墓に行くのはほぼ四年ぶりであった。昔から友 達に青山霊園に行くことを勧められたが、実際 行ってみたら友達が勧めていた理由がわかっ

た。青山霊園はその場所全体になんか神秘的な 雰囲気が漂っていた。松方家の墓はとても大き

くてカッコよかった。日本の社会、特に日本銀 行への大きな貢献を考慮すると、あれくらい

立派な墓は当然な物だと思った。松方さんが親 切な説明をしてくださったおかげで十月十四日 青山霊園へのトリップはいい思い出として残っ

た。松方家の家系図や伝統、そして歴史を知る ことができてとても良かった。他の墓にも訪れ てみたが、全ての墓が全部違った個性を持って いた。質素なものから豪華なものまで、様々な 墓があったのでとても興味深かった。青山霊園 を個人的にも訪れてみようと思う。

I was excited to burn incense and put flowers on the grave of Miss Tané Matsukata. I respect her so much and I can’t believe how lucky I am to be in a school with a special background and a founder with such an interesting history. I hope all students appreciate what Miss Matukata has done to make Nishimachi such a special place. I bet she would be very proud to see how her school has grown to be one of the top schools in Tokyo.

Ryota

Miss Tané Matsukata, the granddaughter of the former Prime Minister Masayoshi Matsukata, used her fortune and education abroad to give both English and Japanese curriculums to students in Tokyo. Being able to learn about her heritage from her cousin was an honor. I never knew about the strong interfamily bonds within the entire Matsukata family, for which I have much respect, as my own family does not have such a strong connection.

Anna

先日は貴重なお話を聞くことができ、とても よかったです。JSSの授業で松方家の歴史につ いて触れることはありましたが、「表面的」

な話のみで、今まではあまり深くは掘り下げ られませんでした。ですが今回は、松方家の価 値観、兄弟間や他の政治家との関係性について 聞けて、非常に興味深かったです。お話を聞く 前までは、「西町の創設者はすごい人なんだな ぁ」という、少しやんわりとした認識でした。

その後、松方家や種子さんがどのような環境で 育ち、どのような想いで西町を作ったのかを知

り、西町の見方が一気に変わりました。西町の 教育方針や価値観が松方家の歴史や種子さんの 育った環境に強く影響されていることが本当に よくわかります。西町の歴史について気になる ことがいくつかあり、インターネットで調べて みたことがあるのですが、やはり表面的な話ば かりで、私の疑問に答えてくれるものはあまり ありませんでした。ですが、今回は松方家の方 から直接話をしてもらうことができ、今まであ った疑問が晴れ、本当に良い経験ができたと思 います。

Yui

We were able to hear about how Prime Minister Masayoshi Matsukata, Miss Matsukata’s grandfather, affected Japanese society during the Meiji Period, and it was interesting to see the family tree of the Matsukata family. I was surprised to see that there were so many people in one family, and that the family members were separated by alphanumeric codes!

Mica

I’ve heard about extended families from friends who have a lot of cousins, but I have never come across a family with such a great history that was taught down the generations. I found it stunning that the Matsukata family members still have connections with each other. I was wondering how it was possible for the Matsukata family to have connections with each other when there were literally so many of them! I was surprised that the Matsukata family members still maintain these connections by hosting events such as 子供運動会 (children’s sports day).

Matthew

It was a very good experience to meet Mr. and Mrs. Matsukata. I was fascinated to learn about the Matsuka family and the long history of this family. I never knew that such big families existed, and when I saw the family tree I was surprised by the number of people and all the branches of the family. It was also good knowing where Miss Tané Matsukata is buried. It helps me appreciate our school more.

The talk by Mr. Matsukata about Prime Minister Masayoshi Matsukata and our school’s founder, Miss Tané Matsukata, helped me understand how special our school is and what an extraordinary woman our founder was. In the story about Prime Minister

Masayoshi Matsukata, I was surprised because he seemed to be a very hard worker. The episode when some people attacked a row of the Daimyo’s soldiers, and Matsukata-san helped, suggested how he found his first step to success in later years.

Ami

Visiting the Matsukata family grave and listening to the history of the Matsukata family was a very valuable time. When Mr. Shichirō Matsukata was talking about his family, I learned a lot of things I didn’t know about Prime Minister Masayoshi Matsukata. I was fascinated to learn that Masayoshi Matsukata was a samurai in Kagoshima. Also, it is very cool how big the family is and how many of Masayoshi Matsukata’s children were involved in the Bank of Japan. Listening to the presentation, I realized how trusted Masayoshi Matsukata was.

Ema

I learned many things that I did not know about the Matsukata family. For example, I did not know that Prime Minister Masayoshi Matsukata had more than 23 children and Miss Tané Matsukata was only one of many more grandchildren he had. It was interesting to know that everyone had their own “thing” when it comes to jobs. It was also fascinating to learn that Masayoshi Matsukata had so many accomplishments such as making the bank and becoming the prime minister.

Lena

I started Nishimachi this year and didn’t know a lot about the Matsukata family and their history. Listening to Mr. Matsukata talk allowed me to have a better understanding of their history. It was an amazing experience looking at all the different sizes of the graves and their histories. Seeing the family tree as a long folding book had me in shock at how extensive the family is and what each of the members did during the Meiji Period.

Tamaki

Before visiting the Matsukata grave I wasn’t very familiar with the Matsukata family, so it was a great experience to learn about our school’s founder and her family from Mr. Shichirō Matsukata. It was very interesting how there were four graves in total and it was my first time seeing a tomb that big. Also the 家系図 (family tree) that Mr. Matsukata showed us was really fascinating. It was my first time seeing a 家系図 as my family doesn’t have one, and even if I had seen a 家系図 before, I had never seen a family so extensive! I wonder if every Matsukata family member has his or her own copy of the family tree book. The family tree book will need to keep growing and growing as each branch family adds babies to the family!