Tokyo Before Tokyo: Power and Magic in the Shogun's City of Edo
A rich and original history of Edo, the shogun’s city that became modern Tokyo.

Tokyo today is one of the world’s mega-cities and the center of a scintillating, hyper-modern culture—but not everyone is aware of its past. Founded in 1590 as the seat of the warlord Tokugawa family, Tokyo, then called Edo, was the locus of Japanese trade, economics, and urban civilization until 1868, when it mutated into Tokyo and became Japan’s modern capital. This beautifully illustrated book presents important sites and features from the rich history of Edo, taken from contemporary sources such as diaries, guidebooks, and woodblock prints. These include the huge bridge on which the city was centered; the vast castle of the Shogun; sumptuous Buddhist temples, bars, kabuki theaters, and Yoshiwara—the famous red-light district.
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Tokyo Before Tokyo: Power and Magic in the Shogun's City of Edo
A rich and original history of Edo, the shogun’s city that became modern Tokyo.

Tokyo today is one of the world’s mega-cities and the center of a scintillating, hyper-modern culture—but not everyone is aware of its past. Founded in 1590 as the seat of the warlord Tokugawa family, Tokyo, then called Edo, was the locus of Japanese trade, economics, and urban civilization until 1868, when it mutated into Tokyo and became Japan’s modern capital. This beautifully illustrated book presents important sites and features from the rich history of Edo, taken from contemporary sources such as diaries, guidebooks, and woodblock prints. These include the huge bridge on which the city was centered; the vast castle of the Shogun; sumptuous Buddhist temples, bars, kabuki theaters, and Yoshiwara—the famous red-light district.
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Tokyo Before Tokyo: Power and Magic in the Shogun's City of Edo

Tokyo Before Tokyo: Power and Magic in the Shogun's City of Edo

by Timon Screech
Tokyo Before Tokyo: Power and Magic in the Shogun's City of Edo

Tokyo Before Tokyo: Power and Magic in the Shogun's City of Edo

by Timon Screech

Paperback

$35.00 
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Overview

A rich and original history of Edo, the shogun’s city that became modern Tokyo.

Tokyo today is one of the world’s mega-cities and the center of a scintillating, hyper-modern culture—but not everyone is aware of its past. Founded in 1590 as the seat of the warlord Tokugawa family, Tokyo, then called Edo, was the locus of Japanese trade, economics, and urban civilization until 1868, when it mutated into Tokyo and became Japan’s modern capital. This beautifully illustrated book presents important sites and features from the rich history of Edo, taken from contemporary sources such as diaries, guidebooks, and woodblock prints. These include the huge bridge on which the city was centered; the vast castle of the Shogun; sumptuous Buddhist temples, bars, kabuki theaters, and Yoshiwara—the famous red-light district.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781789149555
Publisher: Reaktion Books, Limited
Publication date: 02/27/2025
Pages: 240
Product dimensions: 6.73(w) x 8.66(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Timon Screech is professor of the history of art at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He is the author of many books.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1 The Ideal City
2 The Centre of the Shogun’s Realm
3 Edo as Sacred Space
4 Reading Edo Castle
5 The City’s Poetic Presence
6 A Trip to the Yoshiwara

Epilogue: From Edo to Tokyo

References
Selected Sources and Further Reading
General Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
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