Edo by the water

Abstract

The capital of the Tokugawa shogoun and the largest city in the Japanese archipelago since the 17th century, Edo (Tokyo since the Meiji era) was built in part on grounds filled to expand the shoreline into the bay. A seaport, the city is also a major river port, in particular because of its supplies needs. Yet, Edo as a port has enjoyed little attention from historians. The location and port function of the city, where canals and waterways abound, are however essential to the structure of the urban space. This paper aims to describe the various port functions of the city and the space devoted to them, as well as the typical social and professional structures necessary to their operations. The study of several districts of Edo will then allow the description of the local types of micro-societies that developed around the piers.