Tôkyô

Tôkyô, or TÔKEI ('Eastern Capital'), is the chief city of the Japanese empire. Until 1868, when the emperor removed his court thither from Kyôto, it was known as Yedo ('Estuary Gate'). Originally the site of a small castle, it was chosen by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1590 as the seat of his power, and 80,000 of his warriors settled here. The daimyos (territorial lords) were also compelled to spend six months of the year in Yedo. By reason of its position at the mouth of the rivers which drain Musashi, the largest of the plains of Japan, it is well fitted to be a national centre. From it Japan was reduced to unity under the Tokugawa Shôguns, and the emperors, in resuming direct power on the fall of the Shôgunate in 1868, sought to carry on the traditions of centralisation by establishing the restoration government in Yedo. The city has gradually been enlarging seaward, as it takes possession of the growing delta of the river Sumida, on whose south bank it is situated. The lower portion of the city, which is flat and intersected by canals, stretches between the two parks of Ueno (north) and Shiba (south), famous for their shrines and as alternate burial-places of the Tokugawa Shôguns. Midway rises the castle, the central buildings of which were burned in the restoration troubles, now the site of the palace (1889), a fine structure in Japanese style, furnished à l'Euro-péenne, and lit with electricity. Its double ring of high walls and broad moats is finely picturesque. In spring-time the city is gay with plum and cherry blossoms, the river-side avenue of Mukojima, 5 miles long, presenting a unique spectacle. The immense inclosures (yashiki) formerly inhabited by the nobles and their retainers are gradually disappearing, and handsome modern buildings in brick for the use of the various government departments are taking their place. Of the fifteen city divisions (ku) the northern, Hongo and Kanda, are mostly educational, and contain the buildings of the Imperial University, First Higher Middle School, Higher Normal School, Law School, &c. The student population is astonishingly large, and is an element of danger, as the lads are almost wholly without proper parental or other control. The seaward districts of Nihonbashi, Kyobashi, and Asakusa are industrial and commercial, while the government offices are located in Kojimachi ku. The plain but nicely finished buildings in which the first Japanese parliament met in 1890 were consumed by fire in 1891, but have since been rebuilt. There is an anchorage at Shinagawa, the southernmost suburb of the city, but Yokohama is the port of entry (17 miles off). The climate of Tôkyô is moist and unhealthy in summer, but is generally fine and healthy from September to the beginning of June. The winter nights are cold, and the keen winds of spring sweep the dust violently through the streets. The city is subject to disastrous fires; that of April 1892 burned 4000 houses in one morning. Tôkyô has two railway termini 5 miles apart—Shimbashi, connecting it with Yokohama and the south; Ueno, connecting it with Nikko and the north. A suburban railway unites the two systems. Jinrikishas, small two-wheeled carriages drawn by men, are the chief means of conveyance; but trams and buses erowd the principal thoroughfares and connect the scattered districts. There is a foreign concession at Tsukiji, on the south bank of the Sumida, mostly inhabited by missionaries. The foreign population of Tôkyô is about 800, foreign employees and missionaries. Tôkyô resembles Paris in the overshadowing importance of its place in the national life; it is alive with new schemes and undertakings, and almost every phase of modern industrial civilisation is to be found within its vast area. Pop. (1890) 1,376,280; (1899) 1,440,121. See JAPAN.