Edo-Tokyo Museum

The Edo-Tokyo Museum was founded on March 28, 1993, as a facility to preserve the historical heritage of Edo-Tokyo in addition to promoting an awareness of developing a better future for Tokyo. It is considered one the best museums in all of Tokyo. The Edo-Tokyo Museum is an excellent place to learn about the history, the culture, and the daily life in Tokyo during both the Edo (1603-1867) and Meiji (1868-1915) periods.

In the Permanent exhibition area, there can be found original and replicated exhibits, as well as large-scale models, faithful representations of their originals, which have been reproduced after painstaking investigations and research.

Edo-Tokyo Museum Slideshow

In the Edo Zone, I was able to walk across a full-scale model of the Nihonbashi Bridge. In this portion of the museum, I was able to find out how the city of Edo (now called Tokyo) was built, how the people spent their daily lives, and learn about the industries and cultural activities through scale models and panels.

Edo Zone Exhibits

• Edo Castle and the layout of the city
• Edo as seen on folding screens
• The expansion of Edo
• Edo, castle town of the nation
• The Life of the townspeople
• "Bannermen (hatamoto) and "household retainers" (gokenin)
• Warriors stationed in Edo
• Publishing and information
• Edo bookstores
• The flood of publications
• Edo Business
• Currency and daily life
• Edo and Kamigata
• Various kinds of merchants
• Edo and the surrounding villages and islands
• Edo and the surrounding farm villages
• Life in the villages and on islands
• The four seasons and popular spots
• The seasons of Edo
• Popular spots in the city
• Travels and pilgrimages of the commoners
• Culture in the city
• Cultural exchange in Edo
• Cultural exchange with foreign countries
• The aesthetics of Edo
• Clothing and adornmant
• The world of Ukiyo-e
• The theaters and the pleasure quarters
• The pleasures of the Kabuki
• The pleasure quarters of Yoshiwara

In the Tokyo Zone, I was able to view what life was like after the Meiji Restoration (1868). During the Meiji period, Tokyo experienced the industrial revolution, the Great Kanto Earthquake, and the air raids of World War II. The city has grown into a great metropolis. Notable scenes from changing lifestyle and culture are reproduced in this zone.

Tokyo Zone Exhibits

• "Civilization and Enlightenment" in Tokyo
• From the warrior capital to the political capital
• The reception of European and American culture
• Behind the scenes of "Enlightenment"
• Everyday life of the common people
• Education during the Meiji period
• Wealthy farmers in the Tama area and the "Freedom and popular rights movement"
• Tokyo industry
• A city of business and industry
• Urban culture and pleasures
• The growth of Tokyo culture
• Images of Tokyo
• Asakusa
• Mass culture
• The Great Kanto Earthquake
• The Great Kanto Earthquake
• The Great Kanto Earthquake and the 1855 earthquake
• Modern Tokyo
• New occupations in the city
• The establishment of "Greater Tokyo" (Dai-Tokyo)
• Changes in life styles
• The path to war
• Tokyo during the raids
• The Tokyo air raids
• Evacuation of school children
• Reconstructed Tokyo
• Occupied TOKYO
• The lifestyle revolution
• Tokyo, City of the World

Links of interest:

Tokyo-Edo Museum
Schauwecker's Guide to Japan: Edo Period
Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616)
Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868)
Art of the Edo period
Ukiyo-e: Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji
Ukiyo-e Gallery
Kabuki for Everyone: A Brief History