Edo people's lives in old days

Sumidagawa River

A busy main street along the busy river

Many boats drifted by and streets on both sides of the river were busy with people all day long. Edo was a lagoon city and the river played a significant role in people's lives - perhaps more important than streets. It was full of fishing boats and boats with goods from all over Japan, and smaller passenger boats slipped through between them. Boats were appreciated as the most convenient transportation back then.

Nihonbashi 11:45am - 12:45pm

The center of commerce

Nihonbashi was located in the center of Edo where people, goods, streets...everything gathered.

Therefore, it was the center of commerce. All kinds of goods were landed in the Nihonbashi area and scattered to all parts of Edo. There used to be riverside fish markets and warehouses lined up by the bridge where the largest shopping place in Edo and a wholesale district were.

Image of Nihonbashi: from the Eight Views of Edo

All streets and trails started from Nihonbashi. Edo's largest fish market was in the area and it was busy all day long until it was relocated to Tsukiji after the Great Kanto Earthquake. Also Nihonbashi is the birth place of Echigoya which we know as Mitsukoshi department store today. Some shops from the Edo period are still there with more modern looks, but the traditional flavors and skills are crossed from one generation to another.

Kabukiza (Kabuki Theatrical Corporation)

Celebrities in Edo

4-12-15 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo5
Parking: Available (click here for the information only in Japanese)

Theatergoing used to be the best entertainment of Edo people. When it comes to Kabuki, social classes and genders did not matter and everyone enjoyed it. As it is today, popular actors and actresses had enthusiastic fans and those fans beard a crest of their favorite actor and actress on their comb, dresser set and so on. Dressing of actresses created fashion trends. Kabuki developed in Edo, Kyo (Kyoto) and Osaka as its center and each had different characteristic. The Edo people seemed to like exciting violence plays compared to other areas of Japan.

** Current Kabukiza building is expected to be renovated after the final play scheduled in April 2010.

Kabukiza Courier

There were four most representative kabukizas in the Edo period, which were ''Nakamuraza'', ''Ichimuraza'', ''Yamamuraza'' and ''Moritaza''. At one point, one of the most popular actors from Yamamuraza had an affair with a maid of the Inner Palace and as the result, Yamamuraza was destroyed. The remaining three companies were called ''The Edo Sanza (Three theatrical companies of Edo)'' and continued to be successful in the entertainment industry for a long period of time.

Edo Castle 1pm - 2:15pm

Ruins of Edo Castle - The origin of Edo period

1-1 Chiyoda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Parking: Use the spaces at Kitanomaru Park

The center of 260 year lasting Edo period was the Edo Castle where the Shogun family resided and the bakufu (feudal government) was located, and it also functioned as a military capital. The castle originally had a five-level tower when it was build in 1457 but the tower was lost due to the great fire of 1657 and was never built again. Today, some parts of the building are open to the public.

Strolling Around Edo Castle

A monument of the famous Forty-Seven Ronin incident in which Asano Takumi-no-kami drew his short sword attempting to kill Kira Kozu-no-suke for insulting him in a hallway. This resulted in triggering a historical event of Revenge of the Forty-Seven Ronin. There are many sites that remind you of famous people and incidents in Japanese history such as Sakurada-mon (Sakurada gate) where Great Steward Naosuke Ii was assassinated as well as Hanzo-mon (Hanzo gate), a gate named after the famous Ninja Hattori Hanzo. Chidorigabuchi is known for its gorgeous cherry blossom with the reflection on the water surface of the moat surrounding the castle.

Atago Jinja (Atago Shrine) 2:30pm - 3pm

Popular holiday spot of Edo people

1-5-3 Atago, Minato-ku
Parking: 10 cars (in front of NHK Museum)

With a commanding great panoramic view of the city, Atago Mountain was popular among Edo people. The mountain was only 26 meter high and rather small. From the summit, there was a view of strings of old samurai residences. At the top of the steep stone steps called Otokozaka (in other words, Stone Steps of Career Success), you will see Atago shrine.

Atagoyama

The ''Stone Steps of Career Success'' in front of Atago Jinja was named after an anecdote in which Heikuro Magaki climbs up the flight of steep steps on a horse in front of Shogun Iemitsu (Tokugawa's 3rd Shogun) leaving him with a great impression and later wins public recognition throughout Japan by career advancement resulting from the incident.

Mibuzaka

Names of hills reflect Edokko's sentiment

Between 6-6 and 7-6, Akasaka, Minato-ku

There were numerous hills in Edo and each slope had a unique name from a related event or people. Take Mibuzaka (Mibu slope: ''mi'' means three and ''bu'' is a denomination for coins in the Edo period) behind TBS broadcasting center for example. The slope was so steep that customers had to add three extra silver coins for payments to rikisha guys.

Rikugien 3:30pm - 4:30pm

love of seasonal changes in the scenery

6-16-3 Honkomagome, Bunkyo-ku
Parking: many around the site

Edo people coexisted with nature and enjoyed seasonal landscapes. Especially for educated people, being close to beautiful things in nature was considered as a thing to do. Rikugien is a park of a feudal load. Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa was the 5th Shogun Tsunayoshi's favorite liege. Yoshiyasu received the land from Shogun as a gift and spent seven years to turn it into a beautiful Japanese garden. A pond, water falls, a tea room...beautiful seasonal flowers.

Image: Old samurai residents

Edo was the biggest castle town in Japan. It was composed of three types of samurai residences: Kami-yashiki (upper residence) where feudal lords and the family mainly lived, Naka-yashiki (middle residence) where family of local loads lived and Shimo-yashiki (lower residences) with gardens as second houses...it was said that there was an infinite number of old samurai houses around Edo Castle.

Asakusa 5pm - 8pm

Today's major attraction for foreign tourists, Asakusa was an amusement center for Edo people. Show tents, theatrical teahouses, Edo's only licensed quarter Yoshiwara and such were all in this area and it was always flourished with men and women.

One of the most famous foods in Asakusa is eel. We finished our tour with famous eel dish at a long established eel restaurant Unagi Komagata Maekawa.

Edo style of eel cooking is to steam it before broiling it. This restaurant Maekawa has its secret recipe for the sauce to put on eels before broiling them and they put the sauce four times (usually, it is three times). Then the same sauce will be put over rice before placing eels on it. Eels are soft and full and fatty but not greasy.