EDO castle town

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

The town of Edo, Ooedo, Great Edo, Old Edo
江戸　大江戸　
has always fascinated me a lot.
I will try to find material to introduce it in more detail.


. Welcome to Edo 江戸　! .
This is the new Edo Blog since 2013.





More Photos of Old Edo
江戸名所図会


::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Backup only from January 2013





::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::




Edo, The City That Became Tokyo
An Illustrated History
Akira Naito
Illustrations by Kazuo Hozumi
Translated by H. Mack Horton



From 1603 to 1868, the city of Edo was the seat of power of the Tokugawa shogunate and the political center of Japan. In 1868 the city was renamed Tokyo and made the official capital of the nation. Both literally and figuratively, present-day Tokyo rests upon the foundations of Edo, and much of what is now thought of as traditional Japanese culture (woodblock prints, kabuki, sumo, haiku poetry) found its final form in Edo. In this book, through over 200 black and white drawings and an insightful text, old Edo is brought vividly to life—its planning, its construction, and the cultural energy that made it one of the most exciting, and populous, cities on the face of the earth.


. . . Mitsuke Gate of Edo Castle


Edo was nothing more than a village on the edge of Edo Bay when Ieyasu Tokugawa chose it as the site for a castle from which he, as shogun, could administer the country. The castle was of utmost importance because Japan had just emerged from a hundred years of civil war, and Ieyasu was determined that the power he had gained should not be wrested from him by antagonistic warlords.

The castle, of course, had to be supplied with the necessities of everyday life, and thus a town had to be built where merchants and artisans could live. It is the planning and construction of Edo Castle and the town that would support it that lie at the core of this book. In fact, the construction of the city would be an ongoing process throughout its –year history, in the wake of repeated devastation by fire and earthquake and under the pressure of an ever-expanding population.


. . . Quarters of the Townspeople

Another aspect of the book concerns Edo's cultural life, which moved over time from classical conventions dominated by the samurai to the more popular and lively forms favored by the merchants and artisans. Featured here are temples and shrines, festivals, bath houses, pleasure quarters, kabuki theaters, street gangs, the poet Basho, sumo wrestling, side shows, ukiyo-e prints, barbers, and much more.
http://www.kodansha-intl.com/books/html/en/9784770027573.html

This is a most informative book. Once I even tried to translate it into German.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Hi there!
My name is Edoreki Gakushimaru,
and I live in the city of Edo (you probably call my city "Tokyo" -- that's the modern name for Edo). I'd like to take you on a trip through my city, to see what it was like when it was still ruled by the Shogun, when samurai walked the streets, accompanied by beautiful women wearing silk kimono. There are lots of sights to see and plenty to learn about ancient Japan. But first, you have to travel back in time about 200 years.
Are you ready?

Edo Japan, A Virtual Tour


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::




Flower Viewing at Shinobazu Pond
『江戸名所図会』 不忍池 蓮見

More about Edo in Japanese
©　www.cleanup.co.jp


MORE !
My own Reference about EDOGabi Greve

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


People of Edo, by Maki Bokusen 牧墨僊



.....................................................................................................


Look at more here:
source : hatsuzawa


::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Hana no Oo-Edo, the flourishing town of Edo
花の大江戸 and HAIKU


5 hokku including the name EDO

. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


......................... Haiku by Kobayashi Issa
Tr. David Lanoue


江戸江戸とえどへ出れば秋の暮　
edo edo to edo e izureba aki no kure

when heading to Edo
Edo, Edo!
autumn dusk　

The normally exciting prospect of visiting the Shogun's great capital is overshadowed by a sense of the year's (and life's) approaching end.


.

時鳥花のお江戸を一呑に
hototogisu hana no o-edo o hito nomi ni

oh cuckoo--
swallow blossom-filled Edo
in a gulp!

.

江戸の雨何石呑んだ時鳥
Edo no ame nangoku nonda hototogisu

rain in Edo -
how much of it did you swallow
little cuockoo ?

.

掃溜の江戸へ江戸へと時鳥
hakidame no edo e edo e to hototogisu

"I'm off to that rubbish heap
Edo! Edo!"
the cuckoo

...


藤棚の隅から見ゆるお江戸哉
fuji tana no sumi kara miyuru o-edo kana



from a wisteria trellis
nook I see...
Great Edo

...


かはとりも土蔵住居のお江戸哉
kawahori mo dozô sumai no o-edo kana

the bats, too
live in a storehouse...
Great Edo!

Kobayashi Issa


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Asakusa Kannon　浅草観音
Temple Sensooji　浅草寺 Sensoji
fujikoo　富士講 Fujiko , Fuji pilgrims

Edo Castle ... more details !

Nihonbashi 日本橋 "Japan Bridge" in Edo / Tokyo 　　

Echigoya 越後屋 and Mitsui　三井

Edo Patterns

Puns, dajare 駄洒落　ダジャレ, だじゃれ of Edo

Puzzle pictures, Rebus of Old Edo, hanji-e　判じ絵

Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of Edo (1543 - 1616)

Umewaka Memorial Day and Temple Mokubo-Ji (Umewaka Ki)



. WKD : Edo Sanza 江戸三座
the three famous Kabuki theaters of Edo .


::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


本町や夷の飯の横がすみ
Honchoo ya Ebisu no meshi no yoko-gasumi

Old Quarter--
food for the God of Wealth
in mist

Kobayashi Issa

On the 20th day of Tenth Month (old calendar), a festival was held in honor of Ebisu, god of wealth. In the haiku, food offerings to the god meet a bank of mist.
The "Old Quarter" Honchoo was in the Nihonbashi section of Edo, today's Tokyo.
Tr. and comment by David Lanoue

. Ebisu and related KIGO 　


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　


梅さくや先あら玉の御制札
ume sake ya mazu aratama no o-seisatsu

plum trees will bloom
but first the new year's
edicts

Kobayashi Issa

A subtly anti-government haiku. Literally, Issa suggests that "before the plum blossoms of spring can bloom, we will be subjected to the government's new year's edict signs posted everywhere."
Tr. and Comment : David Lanoue




制札 seisatsu, goseisatsu, koosatsu 高札
fure, o-furegaki, o-fure お触書
Wooden plaques with the edicts of the government, placed at crossroads along the city streets. Many people could not read and someone read them for all.


::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


. Hana no Miyako 花の都 - Kyoto and Edo .


. Tookyoo jusha 東京十社 ten shrines of Tokyo .


. Edo shigusa 江戸しぐさ the manners of Edo .


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

quote
Venturing into the zone on Showajima
Industry — most of it hot and heavy — is what this Ota Ward island's chiefly about
By KIT NAGAMURA

Take Showajima (Showa Island) in Tokyo's Ota Ward, for example. Zoned exclusively for heavy industry, it has no shops, dwellings, schools or restaurants, and unlike the backstreets I usually frequent for this column, access requires contacts and appointments.

The Hamamatsucho-to-Haneda Tokyo Monorail bifurcates Showajima into eastern and western halves. At the manmade isle's eponymous station, I leave by the East Exit and proceed between a chain-link fence on one side and sheds that bump and grind with activity on the other.

Read more here:
source : www.japantimes.co.jp

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　


Yuki no Edogawa 雪の江戸川　
Evening Snow at Edo River


Kawase Hasui 川瀬巴水 (1883-1957）


これきりと見えてどっさり春の霜
kore kiri to miete dossari haru no shimo

it seems as if
this will be the end of it　-
severe frost in spring

Kobayashi Issa


The Edo River (江戸川, Edogawa) is a river in the Kantō region of Japan. It splits from the Tone River at the northernmost tip of Narita City, crosses through Nagareyama and Matsudo, and empties into Tokyo Bay at Ichikawa. The Edo forms the borders between Tokyo, Chiba, and Saitama prefectures. Its length is 59.5 km.

The course of the Edo River was previously the main course of the Tone River. It was diverted from the Tone in 1654 by the Tokugawa shogunate to protect the city of Edo from flooding. The Edo was used to transport large amounts of cargo from Chōshi and other cities on the Pacific Ocean coast inland to the capital. Before industralization the river was also used to cultivate lotus roots.

Edogawa (江戸川区, Edogawa-ku) is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It takes its name from the river that runs from north to south along the eastern edge of the ward. In English, it uses the name Edogawa City.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::