The Edo-Tokyo museum is situated in the Ryogoku district of Shitamachi, just east of the Sumida river and the centre of the city, and reached by JR Sobu line trains. The local area is also home to the National Sumo Stadium and Sumo museum. I advise you that during a competition fortnight (basho), the whole area becomes much busier, and queues can be long for the museum. On the other hand, the sight of a young sumo trainee carrying a bag of McDonalds burgers, or one of the immensely strong top professional fighters (rikishi) walking in the building for his bout wearing a cotton kimono, is unforgettable. The wrestlers live and train locally in many beya, which is Japanese for a Sumo stable.
The view into the main hall from the 6th floor.
Edo is the old name for Tokyo, and it became the centre of power in 1590 and rapidly gained in size and power due to the policy of requiring all regional warlords (daimyo) to visit Edo with their court alternate years. This costly exercise meant that regional powerbases far from the capital could not become too wealthy or unruly and so threaten the Shogun. This scheme was instigated by Ieyasu Tokugawa who constructed the new city on a grand scale, rivaling European cities and cities such as Ayuthaya in Thailand in population and development. To serve these visitors, and the thousands of others who were required to reside here, were the merchants and trades-people. Fantastic 'Pleasure districts' grew up to cater to the mainly male residents' entertainment and carnal needs.
The museum contains a host of exhibits including a full-size kabuki theatre and many scale models that depict everyday life during two distinct periods. Firstly, Edo during the early period of isolation from the West, and secondly, the re-named Tokyo after the 1868 Meiji Restoration when open contact with Europe and the US was sanctioned. This is an open-plan building of interesting design, reached by a long escalator. One enters on the 6th floor and crosses a reconstruction of the beautiful and strong wooden NIhonbashi bridge with great views across the entire exhibition space (the 5th floor) (see the above photo).
There are organized guided tours by English-speaking guides, headphones, and the literature is printed in several languages (see below). The exhibits themselves have some good explanatory signs, but the visitor can be confused by those displays without a translation. No matter as the visual nature of the museum means one can enjoy without fully understanding the details. Kids will love the models, some of which you can see below. Here are some of the exhibits that caught my eye, but there are many more on display.
The models in this museum are fantastic. There are several large constructions. Below you can see scenes from two of the largest: the first three show a view of the river and bridge; the fourth is a street scene. All are full of people in authentic traditional costumes, going about their daily business. The attention to detail is amazing, with every element of the model playing its part. It would be possible to spend hours noticing every little thing.
The important building models are even more detailed, but minus the tiny inhabitants. Instead, we have model-making at its most intricate. It must have taken as long to make the model as to build the real thing! The door in the final photo below is an example - it was only 15cm high but perfect in every way. The visitor gets a real sense of old Edo, the only suggestion I would make, is to have some sound effects too, but either way, the kids will love them.
The daily lives of normal people are focused on. We can see full-size replicas of the types of dwellings that they lived in. Cramped, and prone to catching fire, they were squeezed cheek-by-jowl into the spaces behind the main streets in each developing ward. Privacy was definitely in short supply, as the entire family lived in one room, separated from the next family by the thinnest of walls. This type of living resulted in many destructive blazes that periodically burnt down large swathes of the city, resulting in many deaths and of course, constant rebuilding. This rebuilding still continues today in modern Tokyo. There is always a temporary feeling to life in this great city.
The 1657 Meireki fire resulted in the deaths of 100000 citizens. Other fires claimed more lives and so the fire brigade were vital to survival in Edo. I was interested to see sketches showing heavily-tattooed firemen, illustrating that they must have been a powerful group at that time. It surprises me that buildings were allowed to spring up so close together, but I suppose land prices have always been high and most people were poor.
The residents may have been at the mercy of fires and earthquakes, but it appears they knew how to have a good time. Below you see the facade of a full-size reconstructed Kabuki theatre, and costumed actors. Entertainment and enjoyment have always been important in the city, with theatres and brothels, eating houses and bookshops. In fact, the Japanese have been a literate nation for a long time and the culture of books, comics and prints is deeply ingrained in its people.
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Calligraphy (shodo) and painting were introduced from China in the 5th century and developed over time into important cultural pursuits, often lead by monks who created mandalas and scrolls. Screens were beautifully decorated and below you can see two examples that show the superb skill of the artists. The use of natural pigments and gold leaf create a rich effect that also reveals interesting details about real life in the city. They are fantastic records for historians to study, and for all to admire. The closer you look, the more you see: people, animals, foodstuffs, shops, officials, wagons, buildings, gardens, all painstakingly represented.
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Printmaking as an art form was highly regarded and with Ukiyo-e woodblock prints being of World importance. I urge you to find out more about them as they influenced western art and provide some of the strongest images associated with Japan. However, at the museum I was fascinated by the section on printed books. Below you can see a page from a novel of the time. Immediately we can see that they were often fully illustrated. In a way, the forerunners of modern day manga (comic books). When you sit on a train in Japan, surrounded by manga-reading kids and adults, it helps to understand that this pastime has a very long tradition. The many bookstores and news stands are not new, book-lenders and sellers are well established. The Japanese are prolific readers with newspaper circulation incredibly high.
The problem for the leaders in Edo was that a population who is literate has more knowledge, and knowledge is a dangerous thing. Censorship became more and more severe, as prints, pamphlets and books became more subversive. Accordingly, an underground press developed to cater to the thirst for news and comment on the life and times of city dignitaries and others in power. The publishers faced extremely harsh punishment even on the faintest suspicion that a novel or print poked fun at a court noble, but the public demanded more and more printed material.
Woodblock printmaking is a time-consuming and expensive process. Below you can see two wooden blocks from a series of twelve that were needed to produce on image of a woman in kimono. Prints were sold in small shops, a reconstruction of a typical example is also shown below. Attractive women and Sumo wrestlers were popular subjects - nothing changes!
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