History of Chuo-ku
Nihonbashi, the center of Edo
The city of Chuo-ku spreads out on the east side of the Imperial Palace, adjacent to Tokyo Station.
In 1590, when Ieyasu Tokugawa entered Edo in 1590, most of these towns, known as the best downtown area in Japan, were mostly reed tide beaches.
First, the maintenance of Edo Castle and outer moat was carried out, and the town split of Edo began with the opening of Edo shogunate in 1603. The soil of Kadoyama (Surugadai) was dug and the Suzaki of Toshima was reclaimed, and the area along the Sumida River from around Hamacho to Minami-Shimbashi was completed. The townspeople such as Nihonbashi and Kyobashi seem to have been completed around 1605.
It is said that the vast labor force involved in the creation of Oedo was provided by daimyo from all over Japan, ordered to help.
Nihonbashi is a bridge built where Hirakawa was extended to the east and became the current Nihonbashi River. The origin of the bridge name is described in "Ofunai Remarks" as "This bridge is in the center of Edo, and the journey of the countries is also here. Because it is determined from here, Nihonbashi's name is Tofu ". When the Gokaido system was established in 1604 (1604), the Shogunate's philosophy of trying to develop all roads starting from Nihonbashi became the name of Nihonbashi. On the other hand, it was almost the same time that Kyobashi was built, and this route was the starting point of the Tokaido, that is, the main street of Oedo. The balustrade of Kyobashi was decorated with jewels like Nihonbashi and Shimbashi, and later served as the gateway to Edo for a long time.
By the way, post towns, horses, and Sugo were born with the Gokaido system. In Edo, which became the cornerstone of national transportation, the role of horses (supply of horses), was involved in the role of horses (supply of horses). Was in the distribution of horses. In addition, a horse market stood in Bakurocho, supplying horses for horse riding.
In addition, there were many craftsmen and merchants who served the Shogunate in Chuo-ku, and there were many places where their occupations became street names. In addition to Koza and Ginza, Sayacho, which made sword sheaths, Honishi-cho, a town of US merchants, and Honkawayacho, Teppochou, Kugicho, Konya-cho, Oke-cho, Gofukumachi, Nabe-cho, etc. It was a town of the same person. In this way, the town area was expanded one after another, and the area of Motoyoshiwara was reclaimed in Genwa 3-4 (1617-18), and the east of Hatchobori was reclaimed in 1624 (1624), and by the end of the Kanei era Most of the central area was created.
When Ieyasu descended to Edo, there was a fisherman who emigrated from Settsu according to Ieyasu. They were given the right to operate freely in the waters near Edo, but there were also problems with local fishermen. So they wished to the Shogunate, reclaimed the triangle at the mouth of the Sumida River, built an island, and emigrated. It was in 1644 (1644), and this was the beginning of Tsukuda Island.
Reconstruction of Edo's specialty, Great Fire
On the New Year of 1657 (1657), a large fire that occurred from Honmyoji (Bunkyo-ku) (the great fire of the Meiryaku era = commonly called a kimono fire) burned 60% of Edo city and became a winter disaster, killing more than 107,000 people, and the central keep of Edo Castle was burned down, except for a part of the central field.
The Shogunate immediately started a large-scale reconstruction project, and by the Kanbun period (1661-72), the city area of Edo with a new plot was completed.
It was at this time that Hirokoji was set up as a fire protection area, and that the daimyo residence moved outside the castle except for the three families.
In Chuo-ku, along with Hatchobori and Reigishijima, there were many samurai areas, and the Nihonbashi and Kyobashi areas spread as machiya. In Tsukiji, the whole area of Kibikicho was created by the hands of Tsukuda fishermen who were members, and Nishi Honganji Temple moved to this area, creating today's shape.
On the other hand, Yukaku Motoyoshi Hara, which was formed from the current Ningyocho to Tomizawa-cho, moved to Asakusa in the wake of a great fire. The so-called Oedo Yaohachicho is after this, and it is from now on that Chuo-ku has surpassed and developed as a commercial area.
The current department store is in Edo
Nihonbashi is home to one of Japan's leading deburts and long-established stores.
This prosperity was built around the Genroku era. First, in 1662 (1662), Shirakiya (Today Tokyu) opened a store in Nihonbashi, followed by Mitsui Echigoya (Mitsukoshi), who later became famous for its "no current silver price" commercial law during the Enpo era (1673-80), opened in Honmachi 1-chome.
The opening of Daimaru was also in the Edo period.
On the other hand, there were only four cotton wholesalers in Otemmacho at first, but in 1686 (1686), 70 cotton brokers under the wholesaler were promoted to wholesalers at the same time, and since then, they have been very active as emerging merchants. Has become exerted.
Around this time, shops called long-established and famous stores were born one after another.
In the past, the wholesale district on the canal and riverbanks
The population of Edo is said to be between 1 million and 1.1 million since the middle of the year, and the supply of materials that support this huge population relied on marine and river transportation where mass transportation is possible.
In the central area, which is a commercial area facing the sea, there are several canals and riverbanks for this purpose, and the banks of Nihonbashi River, Kyobashi River, Sanjumabori and Hatchobori are particularly important routes that can be said to be the aorta of water transportation. Was.
There are Shuga Bank, the United States Bank, the Kofune River Bank, and the Horidome River Bank in the ship entrance moat leading to the Nihonbashi River, and warehouses for rice grains, salt and dry goods show white walls, and along the Kyobashi River, firewood banks and bamboo banks There were wholesalers handling firewood charcoal and bamboo trees as the name suggests.
In addition, seafood was very busy with fish markets standing along the Nihonbashi River from Muromachi 1-chome to Kofune-cho.
In this way, when commercial activities became popular, organizations began to be formed among merchants. In Nihonbashi, in 1694 (1694), cargo wholesalers coming up from Osaka gathered to form a ten-gumi wholesaler to guarantee joint damage to cargo such as marine disasters. In 1813 (1813), it developed and changed, and became a kind of monopoly group, a stock associate. In the fish market, four wholesalers were created: Honmachi Funagumi, Hon Odawara Gumi, Hon Funamachi Yoko Store Gumi, and Ahari Town Gumi.
The birthplace of Edo Kabuki
Chuo-ku is also the birthplace of Edo townspeople's culture. Edo Kabuki originated and grew in the main ward, and since the Meiji era, the main ward has created the base where the main ward became the center of the new drama.
Edo Kabuki began in 1624 (1624) when Kansaburo Saruwaka of Nakamuraza raised a tower in the southern part of Nakahashi (between Nihonbashi and Kyobashi). Soon, Ichimura-za followed, and Morita-za and Yamamura-za were officially recognized for their performances.
Since Meiryaku, theater performances, including puppet ballad drama, were limited to three towns, Sakaimachi, Fukiya-cho, and Kibiki-cho, so four seats gathered here, and these three towns were the most Edokko-like atmosphere alongside the fish shore. It became the place where I grew up.
In addition to Danjuro Ichikawa, who was said to be the actor guardian god, superstars such as Danzo Ichikawa, Hanshiro Iwai and Kikugoro Onoe gained tremendous popularity, and during the culture and Bunsei period, Nanboku Tsuruya (the fourth generation) who left the name of "Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan" appeared, and Nagauta's Rokuzaemon Kineya and Kabuki music were produced by Kabuki.
The Ejima-Ikushima incident (1714), which caused the destruction of Yamamuraza, shows that Kabuki was already enthusiastic about people of all levels, not just the common people.
The center of Edo, where cultural figures gather
The center and central area of Oedo were places where many cultural people lived and worked.
Early there were people who contributed to the establishment of the shogunate clan system, such as Anjin Miura and Zuiken Kawamura, and in the middle and late period, the famous physician, Genji Okamoto, who cured the pox of the third shogun Iemitsu, Ryotaku Maeno, Genjiro Sugita, HaruKamono Mabuchi, Confucian scholar Sorai Ogyu
Many bookstores have published ukiyo-e, and Nishimura Judo in Bakurocho published Higashi Nishiki-e in multicolor printing, and it was Juzaburo Tsutaya in Tsuyu-cho who found Utamaro's talent.
Masamochi Ishikawa, born in Hatagoya in Kodemmacho, is a mad singer Meshimori Yadoyano, Sanpu Sugiyama is a fish merchant in Hon Odawaracho, a medicinal shop in Honmachi 2-chome is Shikitei Sanma, and Kyoden Santo, a stylish book writer, sells smoking equipment at Ginza 1-chome.……。
People in various positions and occupations have created a free culture in this area.
From Edo to Tokyo City
In the Meiji era, the new government promoted the reform of the town administration at a rapid pace along with the reform of the Central Political Organization, and in 1878, with the enforcement of the county municipal organization law, 15 wards such as Kojimachi, Nihonbashi, Kyobashi, Shiba, Azabu were located in Tokyo. Was.
Nihonbashi-ku and Kyobashi-ku are established here, and the period of the second ward will continue for about 70 years until they merge as Chuo-ku.
The city of Tokyo became independent from Tokyo in 1889, but this is not famous.
The governor of the prefecture also served as the mayor, there was no city hall, and there was no city official.
Nine years later, in 1898, the real self-government system was established, and for the first time, a city hall was opened in the Tokyo Prefectural Government Building at Yurakucho 2-chome, Kojimachi-ku.
The Great Kanto Earthquake and the Great Tokyo Air Raid
The Great Kanto Earthquake that occurred on September 1, 1923 caused severe damage to the entire capital, and even in Chuo-ku, the Nihonbashi area was completely destroyed and the Kyobashi area was burned down to 80%.
As a result, the fish bank in Nihonbashi moved to Tsukiji, and new roads such as Showa-dori were created through reconstruction projects. In addition, after the earthquake, department stores such as Matsuzakaya, Matsuya, and Mitsukoshi entered Ginza at once.
Cafés and bars were even more crowded, and the word "silver Bra" was born, and after 1930, Moga and Mobo came to be seen walking around the city in a stylish style. It was around this time that dance halls and coffee shops became popular.
However, these prosperity also faded down as the wartime color became darker, and in the 1945 Tokyo air raid, Tokyo turned into a rubble city where concrete fragments of buildings overlap.
Birth and development of the new Chuo-ku
The reconstruction of Ginza and Nihonbashi proceeded at a rapid pace, and in 1947, Tokyo became a 23-district system. At this time, the current Chuo-ku was born together with the Kyobashi Ward and Nihonbashi Ward.
The Shinsei Chuo-ku revived as the center of Japan's economy and culture around 1951, when the peace treaty was concluded.
In the 1930s, Billrush visited, and before and after the Tokyo Olympics, rivers were reclaimed, creating a new urban landscape with highways overhead and subways at feet.
Image provided: Chuo-ku Public Relations Section (taken in May 1982 (May 1982))
