Kan'ei-ji in the context of Ueno Park

Ueno (上野; Japanese pronunciation: [ɯ.e.no]) is a district in Taitō, Tokyo. The area extending from Ueno to Asakusa is part of the historical Shitamachi (literally "low city") district of Tokyo, which is often associated with working-class traditions and culture as well as their distinct accent. The district's name roughly translates into "Upper Field" in English.

The Ueno area, in the strict sense, centres around Ueno Station, which has historically been the terminus for long-distance trains bound for northern Japan, such as the Blue trains and the Shinkansen. To the north, Ueno Park stretches to the area just behind the University of Tokyo's Hongo Campus. Ueno Park houses some of Tokyo's finest cultural sites, including the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, the National Museum of Nature and Science, and a major public concert hall. Numerous Buddhist temples can also be found in the park, including the Bentendo, dedicated to the goddess Benzaiten, on an island in Shinobazu Pond. The Kan'ei-ji, a major temple for the Tokugawa shōguns, also stands in this area, with its pagoda now located within the grounds of Ueno Zoo. Nearby is Ueno Tōshō-gū, a Shinto shrine dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu. The International Library of Children's Literature is also in the area.

The Shōgitai (彰義隊, "Manifest Righteousness Regiment") was an elite samurai shock infantry formation of the Tokugawa shogunate military formed in 1868 by the hatamoto Amano Hachirō [ja] and Hitotsubashi Gosankyō retainer Shibusawa Seiichirō [ja] in Zōshigaya, Edo (now Tokyo). The Shōgitai took a large part in the battles of the Boshin War, especially at the Battle of Toba–Fushimi, and, after being assigned the defence of Kan'ei-ji temple, the Battle of Ueno, where they were nearly annihilated.

After the Battle of Ueno, some surviving Shōgitai fled north, eventually joining the rebels of the Ezo Republic. Following the defeat of Ezo, most of the few remaining former Shōgitai settled in Hokkaido as tondenhei. Among the survivors was Toyohara Chikanobu, who later achieved fame as a master nishiki-e artist.