The historical development of Edo (Tokyo)

Before I get into the way Tokyo is now, I thought for my own information and anyone else who's interested, I'd take a look at the history of Tokyo and how the city has developed historically.

The Tokugawa Shogunate
The settlement that has become Tokyo arose around 400 years ago during the early part of the Tokugawa shogunate, that ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868.  The Shogun set up his power base in Edo castle, on the site of the current imperial palace in the heart of Tokyo.  Whilst the Emperor remained in Kyoto as a figure head, the country was ruled by the shogunate in Edo which became the political and cultural centre of Japan.  By the mid 18th century, Edo had become a city of 1 million inhabitants.

The original plan for Edo was based around the castle, which was positioned at the edge of an elevated area known as the Musashino plateau.  In contrast to many European cities of this time, the city developed along a far less rigid structure.  Although broadly based on a grid layout, development tended to respect the natural topography and as a result, took on a more organic form.  On the upper land to the north, west and south of the castle, the estates of the Daimyo (feudal lords) were located.  This area was known as Yamanote and the name is now used for the rail line that circulates around central Tokyo.  The Daimyo estates provided fine residences for the ruling Samurai classes and took advantage of the surrounding countryside to create views that maintained a strong connection with the natural landscape.  Many of the Daimyo estates created Kaiyuushiki teien, or stroll gardens, some of which remain to this day as the idealistic informal gardens for which Japan is famous.

Koshikawa Korakuen, Tokyo (Stroll Garden)

In contrast to the estates of the ruling class, the Choumin, or townsfolk, resided in the lower area to the east of the castle, and which became known as Shitamachi (literally "below town").  The area developed along the rivers that fed into the bay and formed the transportation network for the early city.  As a result, trade flourished in these areas and a dense and vibrant settlement quickly spread along these transportation corridors.  Shitamachi was generally the area to the east of the Sumida River.

Shitamachi was originally laid out on a grid pattern, based on blocks of 120m x 120m.  These areas in turn were divided into 9 inner blocks of 40m x 40m and these formed the basic urban structure.  A merchant would generally build their house on the outer edge of the these blocks and this would typically serve as a place of business or a shop too.  Behind the house, the landowner would build lower quality housing that could be rented out to less affluent townspeople and faced onto a narrow alley.  In this way, a dense built form within a network of narrow alleys developed and became the backdrop for much of Edo life.  Although cramped and lacking open views, these areas were served by common water supplies and latrines. 

"Yamanote" areas in Red / "Shitamchi" areas in Blue

The urban development of Edo was frequently interrupted by fires and natural disasters, some of which were devastating in terms of their impact.  The Great Fire of Meireki in 1657 destroyed upto 70% of the city and led to the re-planning of the city, including fire breaks and look-outs.  The common open areas that acted as fire breaks also became activity spaces and a focal point for entertainment in the city.  The areas were known as Sakariba.

Administration of the city was traditionally controlled through a series of districts, rather than a central body.  These districts in turn passed down control of separate town areas to smaller administrative bodies and in this way, governance and development became highly localised.

The Meiji Period
The Edo period lasted until 1868 when the Meiji Restoration reinstated the Emperor as the head of the political system and the Emperor Meiji moved from Kyoto to Edo.  At this time, the city was re-named Tokyo and this became the new capital of Japan.  The Meiji period, lasted from 1868 to 1912 and saw the emergence of Japan as a modern nation and the country rapidly industrialised.  Western-style architecture was introduced for many public buildings and modern road and rail infrastructure began to become established.

The modernisation of Japan also led to new ideas on urban planning and the government introduced the 50 ward system in 1869-71.  Whilst maintaining much of the local powers of administration, this enabled city-wide standards of infrastructure to be introduced and the planning of city parks and recreation spaces.  The city population increased rapidly from around 850,000 in 1882 to about 2 million by 1905.

The Great Kanto Earthquake (1923)
In 1923, the city was once again struck by natural disaster as the Great Kanto Earthquake laid waste to much of the city and with terrible loss of life.  An earthquake measuring 8.3 on the Richter scale struck 80Km south of Tokyo at noon on 1st September.  With many people cooking lunch at the time, numerous fires spread rapidly, made worse by a typhoon that hit simultaneously.  A tsunami caused devastation along the coastal areas in and around Tokyo Bay and a total of 100,000 people died with tens of thousands more missing.

In the aftermath of the quake, it was even suggested that the capital city be moved from Tokyo but in the end, plans were made for the city reconstruction.  Modern road networks and public parks were planned as well as new standards for construction of public buildings.    Designated building lines were introduced in 1938 to try to control unrestricted development in areas with insufficient infrastructure, but these defined the building line as up to any road of 4m or wider.  This simply led to dense suburban growth based around an inadequate network of narrow highways. In the end, many of the city plans remained unfunded with the on-set of the 2nd World War.

World War II
The first bombing of tokyo was in 1942 but consistent bombing of the capital began in November 1944 when US troops had occupied islands close enough to Tokyo.  The terrible devastation reached its peak on 9th/10th March 1945 when the fire-bombing of Tokyo caused an inferno so intense that it destroyed 45 sq.Km of the city and killed 100,000 people in a single night.  Tokyo's population was around 7.4 million during the war and more than half fled the city in the face of the bombing campaign, only returning after the Japanese surrender on August 15th 1945.

Following the war, the government's priority was economic growth and re-building a country that could feed and house its population.  As a result, the city re-built itself under a continued weak planning system.  Whilst the government provided the major infrastructure, the actual re-building of housing was left very much to the population, with few restrictions.  Later, as the country got back on its feet, much of the suburban development was dictated by the rail companies who bought up land alongside their expanding rail lines and built housing areas and retail hubs around the stations.  By selling the housing they were able to finance further rail expansion and extend the reach of the metropolis and its ever-expanding population.

Economic re-emergence of Japan
Post-war, Japan remained a largely agricultural country, but gradually, the country developed its modern industry and attracted by higher wages and education, more and more of the rural population migrated to Tokyo.  To accommodate this influx, by the 1960's, Public Corporations started to build public housing schemes, or Danchi on the former agricultural land on the outskirts of the city.  Many of these were provided with new schools and landscaped parks and were close to rail infrastructure.  New towns, like Tama New Town and Chiba New Town were developed as more ambitious urban centres within the outer suburbs of the metropolis.

Finally, in 1968, new Planning Laws were introduced which controlled the extent of spread of the city, provided some zoning of areas to protect sensitive residential areas and introduced a permission system for new development.  The 1970's saw an increase in popularity of the condominium, or mansion, and the inner city areas took on a more diverse urban form, although remained largely low-rise.

During the 1980s, the boom economy was under way and Tokyo saw the arrival of many landmark city developments as it took its place amongst the world's most advanced cities.  Land prices sky rocketed and by the end of the decade, inner city areas were some of the most expensive in the world, leading to a fall in the population of some inner city areas.  The effects of the end of the bubble economy and the "bad loans" associated with property development are still being felt today, but the continual cycle of re-building continues.  The average life of a building in Tokyo is around 15 years.

Inheritance tax in Japan is quite onerous compared to many other countries and, combined with the high land costs, this leads to the gradual division of land plots as houses pass from one generation to the next.  What were once large plots in the suburbs have become sub-divided into smaller and smaller areas leading to a progressive increase in housing density in many areas.  Alternatively, some owners have built small condominiums on former housing plots to maximise development value.

In the 1990s and beyond, former industrial land along the water front of Tokyo Bay became available as companies moved production to cheaper overseas locations.  Some of these areas have been restored and redeveloped with high-rise residential towers which has seen a return of communities to this part of the city.

The legacies of Tokyo's historic development
Tokyo is a city that has had to deal with disasters on a monumental scale, but has somehow found a way to re-create itself.  To a large extent this has not relied on strict planning or any clear vision of what the city was to become, but rather it has been down to the will and fortitude of its people.  So where does this leave us in terms of the city today?  Well, simply based on my own impressions, I've set out some of the positive and negative aspects of the city as I see them.

Positives:
-    It's a safe place to live
-    The city works efficiently, particularly the transport system
-    The high population density sustains many local shops and facilities
-    Major retail is closely linked to rail stations making it accessible from public transport 
-    Mixed-use neighbourhoods create a more vibrant and active community
-    Diverse housing mixes allow for more social diversity in neighbourhoods
-    Use of elevated walkways and subways to allow pedestrian movement from rail hubs

Negatives:
-    Urban sprawl blurs boundaries between settlements
-    Lack of visual landmarks or spatial diversity causes disorientation
-    Narrow streets bring cars and pedestrians into conflict
-    Apparent lack of distinctive character areas
-    No clear vernacular in residential architecture
-    Incoherent boundary treatments to housing
-    Overhead cables create visual distraction
-    Over-engineered treatment to urban water courses
-    Huge concrete overpasses dominate some parts of the city
-    Insufficient capacity of major roads into and out of Tokyo

I hope to look into some of these aspects later on in my blog, but for now, that'll do.

Andy