Name:
鼓坂 つづみざか
Tsutzumi-zaka, Festival Drum Rise

Location:
赤坂１－１１から麗南坂教会前へ向けて南東に上る?
From Akasaka 1-11, rising to the southeast to Reinanzaka Church?

This article is part of the special feature Akasaka on the Rise. Check it out in my Live Maps Collection.

The official description:

鼓坂は今はない。
Festival Drum Rise no longer exists.

Unofficial explanation:

Festival Drum Rise wasn't created until the Meiji Era, but it's already gone. Several web sites claim that the rise begins at the intersection of New Hackberry Rise and Cherry Rise, then heads up a short, steep incline to the front of Reinanzaka Church, ending near South Spirit Rise. This stretch is presented in yellow on the maps. [Photos looking up from the bottom and down from the top.]

However, I don't think they're right. Looking at maps from the Meiji and Edo Eras, the most likely new road seems to be one that dropped down to the new Fukuyoshi Town (福吉町, Fukuyoushi-chou) streetcar stop. It would have been just a bit west of the bottom of Fukuyoshi Rise. I've marked it in red on the maps. The one here is from 1905. The one at the top of the page is current Ark Hills.

If I'm right, these steps in Ark Hills leading down to a building and Roppongi Avenue may be the closest thing to a remnant. Considering that Minato Ward uses the cryptic language "It no longer exists," it makes sense that Ark Hills decimated it during construction in the 1980s.

By the way, a tsutzumi is a traditional Japanese hand drum. It is used in festivals as well as Kabuki and Noh theater.