How the Great Fire of 1657 Influenced Modern Tokyo

Take a little walk around modern Tokyo, and it will come across as the pinnacle of order and calm. It is hard to imagine that all of this was destroyed a couple of times during the 20th century, first in the earthquake and fire of 1923, and then by bombing in 1945.

These have not been the only occasions that Tokyo has faced misfortune. In those days when the city was still known as Edo, it was practically made of wood. Fires were a constant danger, and Edo burned to the ground on several occasions, only to rise from its ashes like a great phoenix.

One of the most disastrous fires was the Great Fire of 1657. But it was also one of the ones that most taught Japanese society to prevent fires as much as possible. Its influence is still noticeable in the current layout of the city.

Edo was still a new city in 1657. The Shogun moved his capital from Kyoto to the town of Edo some 50 years earlier. During that period the city enjoyed unusual economic and population growth, to become one of the largest cities in the world at its time.

The Great Fire of 1657 started in Hongo, spread to Yushima and Kanda, down to Ginza. Unstoppable for 3 days, expanding with the help of strong seeing. The population of Edo was 400,000 in 1657. By the time they managed to put out the fire, at least a quarter of the population had died.

It is said that the Kanda River was so full of bodies that it appeared to be dry. Three quarters of the city’s buildings were in ashes, including most of the buildings that made up Edo Castle.

After the fire, the Shogun ordered a series of decrees to resolve the issues that caused the fire. Until 1657, the only firefighters in the city were private squads that protected the feudal lords of the city and even they could do nothing against the flames. As a result, 500 palaces of these feudal lords burned to the ground.

The Shogun ordered that fire wardens be appointed in each neighborhood, and they organized teams of volunteers. These early fire brigade teams became the backbone of the society.

The palaces of the feudal lords were rebuilt but further from the castle, and in a more discreet fashion, the style of which would set the tone for the city’s aristocratic districts for centuries to come.

The Great Fire of 1657 also burned more than 350 temples and shrines. These were originally located around Edo Castle, but after the fire, the Shogun ordered them to be built away from it. Looking at the current map of Tokyo, you can see a district of temples and shrines in the shape of a ring around the Imperial Palace about 2 kilometers from it, in Asakusa, Yanaka, Yushima, Hongo, Ushigome, Yotsuya and Azabu.

The Great Fire also prompted the expansion of the “borders” of the city. Until 1657, the woodworking areas were in Nihonbashi, in the heart of the city. After the fire, they were taken to Fukagawa, on the far shore of the Sumida River. At that time Fukagawa was just a fishing village, but it grew rapidly to become a strong industrial area, and still is today.

Edo was a city with serious overpopulation problems, and this caused many to die at the foot of the river, unable to escape the flames. So expanding the city’s borders decreased the density of the city considerably.

After 1657, there was a concerted and conscious effort by all to recover as a community. Swampy areas in eastern Sumida, such as Honjo and Fukagawa, were drained and developed to decrease population density in other areas, and a bridge was built to connect the new neighborhoods with the rest of the city. This was Ryogokubashi, the first bridge to be built south of Senju. In a short time it became the most important bridge in Edo, a place where festivals with fireworks are held during the summer.

The neighborhood at the foot of the bridge was cleared up and left as open space, in the hope that it would serve as a “fire breaker” in case of fire, but it soon became a type of public square where people from Edo went to see artists. strays.

Similar “firebreaks” were created in Ueno and Asakusa, soon becoming community entertainment areas, and continue to be so to this day. Like many other things, they began in the Great Fire of 1657.