Editing Edo (section)

==Urbanism==
Very quickly after its inception, the shogunate undertook major works in Edo that drastically changed the topography of the area, notably under the {{Nihongo|Tenka-Bushin|天下普請}} nationwide program of major civil works involving the now pacified ''[[Daimyo|daimyō]]'' workforce. The Hibiya cove facing the castle was soon filled after the arrival of Ieyasu, the Hirakawa river was diverted, and several protective moats and logistical canals were dug (including the Kanda river), to limit the risks of flooding. [[Land reclamation|Landfill works]] on the bay began, with several areas reclaimed during the duration of the shogunate (notably the Tsukiji area). East of the city and of the [[Sumida River]], a massive network of canals was dug.

Fresh water was a major issue, as direct wells would provide brackish water because of the location of the city over an estuary. The few fresh water ponds of the city were put to use, and a network of canals and underground wooden pipes bringing freshwater from the western side of the city and the [[Tama River]] was built. Some of this infrastructure was used until the 20th century.

=== General layout of the city ===
The city was laid out as a castle town around Edo Castle, which was positioned at the tip of the [[Musashino Terrace|Musashino terrace]]. The area in the immediate proximity of the castle consisted of samurai and ''daimyō'' residences, whose families lived in Edo as part of the ''[[sankin-kōtai]]'' system; the ''daimyō'' made journeys in alternating years to Edo and used the residences for their entourages. The location of each residence was carefully attributed depending on their position as [[Tozama daimyō|''tozama'']], ''[[Shinpan (daimyo)|shinpan]]'' or [[Fudai daimyō|''fudai'']]. It was this extensive organization of the city for the samurai class which defined the character of Edo, particularly in contrast to the two major cities of Kyoto and [[Osaka]], neither of which were ruled by a ''daimyō'' or had a significant samurai population. Kyoto's character was defined by the Imperial Court, the [[kuge|court nobles]], its Buddhist temples and its history; Osaka was the country's commercial center, dominated by the ''[[chōnin]]'' or the merchant class. On the contrary, the samurai and ''daimyō'' residences occupied up to 70% of the area of Edo. On the east and northeast sides of the castle lived the {{Nihongo|''Shomin''|庶民|4="regular people"}} including the ''chōnin'' in a much more densely populated area than the samurai class area, organized in a series of gated communities called ''machi'' (町, "town" or "village"). This area, [[Yamanote and Shitamachi|Shitamachi]] (下町, "lower town" or "lower towns"), was the center of urban and merchant culture. Shomin also lived along the main roads leading in and out of the city. The Sumida River, then called the Great River (大川, ''Ōkawa''), ran on the eastern side of the city. The shogunate's official rice-storage warehouses<ref>Taxes, and samurai stipends, were paid not in [[Money|coin]], but in rice. See ''[[koku]]''.</ref> and other official buildings were located here.

[[File:Hiroshige le pont Nihonbashi à l'aube.jpg|thumb|Nihonbashi in Edo, ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' print by [[Hiroshige]]|alt=Illustration of people crossing the wooden Edo Bridge]]
The {{Nihongo|[[Nihonbashi]] bridge|日本橋|4=lit. "bridge of Japan"}} marked the center of the city's commercial center and the starting point of the [[Edo Five Routes|gokaidō]] (thus making it the de facto "center of the country"). Fishermen, craftsmen and other producers and retailers operated here. Shippers managed ships known as ''tarubune'' to and from Osaka and other cities, bringing goods into the city or transferring them from sea routes to river barges or land routes.

The northeastern corner of the city was considered dangerous in the traditional ''[[onmyōdō]]'' cosmology and was protected from evil by a number of temples including [[Sensō-ji]] and [[Kan'ei-ji]], one of the two tutelary [[Bodaiji]] temples of the Tokugawa. A path and a canal, a short distance north of Sensō-ji, extended west from the Sumida riverbank leading along the northern edge of the city to the [[Yoshiwara]] pleasure district. Previously located near Ningyōchō, the district was rebuilt in this more remote location after the great fire of Meireki. Danzaemon, the hereditary position head of ''[[burakumin|eta]],'' or outcasts, who performed "unclean" works in the city resided nearby.

Temples and shrines occupied roughly 15% of the surface of the city, equivalent to the living areas of the townspeople, with however an average of one-tenth of its population. Temples and shrines were spread out over the city. Besides the large concentration in the northeast side to protect the city, the second Bodaiji of the Tokugawa, [[Zōjō-ji]] occupied a large area south of the castle.

=== Housing ===

==== Military caste ====
The samurai and ''daimyōs'' residential estates varied dramatically in size depending on their status. Some daimyōs could have several of those residences in Edo. The {{Nihongo|upper residence|上屋敷|kami-yashiki}}, was the main residence while the lord was in Edo and was used for official duties. It was not necessarily the largest of his residences, but the most convenient to commute to the castle. The upper residence also acted as the representative embassy of the domain in Edo, connecting the shogunate and the clan. The shogunate did not exercise its investigative powers inside the precincts of the residential estate of the upper residence, which could also act as a refuge. The estate of the upper residence was attributed by the shogunate according to the status of the clan and its relation with the Shogun. The {{Nihongo|middle residence|中屋敷|naka-yashiki}}, a bit further from the castle, could house the heir of the lord, his servants from his fief when he was in Edo for the [[Sankin-kōtai|sankin-kotai]] alternate residency, or be a hiding residence if needed. The {{Nihongo|lower residence|下屋敷|shimo-yashiki}}, if there was any, was on the outskirts of town, more of a pleasure retreat with gardens. The lower residence could also be used as a retreat for the lord if a fire had devastated the city. Some of the powerful ''daimyōs'' residences occupied vast grounds of several dozens of hectares. Maintenance and operations of those residential estates could be extremely expensive. Samurai in service of a specific clan would normally live in the residence of their lord.

The {{Lang|ja-latn|[[hatamoto]]}} samurais, in direct service of the Shogun, would have their own residences, usually located behind the castle on the Western side in the [[Banchō]] area.

==== Shonin ====
[[File:Edo Fukagawa 3.JPG|left|thumb|Typical <nowiki>''nagaya''</nowiki> housing district in backstreets]]
In a strict sense of the word, ''chōnin'' were only the townspeople who owned their residence, which was actually a minority. The ''shonin'' population mainly lived in semi-collective housings called {{Nihongo|''[[nagaya (architecture)|nagaya]]''|長屋|4=litt. "Long house"}}, multi-rooms wooden dwellings, organized in enclosed {{Nihongo|''machi''|町|4="town" or "village"}}, with communal facilities, such as wells connected to the city's fresh water distribution system, garbage collection area and communal bathrooms. A typical ''machi'' was of rectangular shape and could have a population of several hundred.

[[File:Edo Hibachi.JPG|thumb|right|''Chōnin''-room exhibit at the [[Fukagawa Edo Museum]]|alt=Museum room with wood furniture and cooking utensils in center]]
The ''machi'' had curfew for the night with closing and guarded gates called {{Nihongo|''kidomon''|木戸門|4=}} opening on the {{Nihongo|main street|表通り|''omote-dori''}} in the ''machi''. Two floor buildings and larger shops, reserved to the higher-ranking members of the society, were facing the main street. A ''machi'' would typically follow a grid pattern and smaller streets, {{Nihongo|''Shinmichi''|新道|4=}}, were opening on the main street, also with (sometimes) two-floor buildings, shop on the first floor, living quarter on the second floor, for the more well-off residents. Very narrow streets accessible through small gates called {{Nihongo|''roji''|路地}}, would enter deeper inside the ''machi'', where single floor ''nagayas'', the {{Nihongo|''uranagayas''|裏長屋||litt. "backstreet long houses"}} were located. Rentals and smaller rooms for lower ranked ''shonin'' were located in those back housings.

Edo was nicknamed the {{Nihongo|City of 808 towns|江戸八百八町|Edo happyaku yachō}}, depicting the large number and diversity of those communities, but the actual number was closer to 1,700 by the 18th century.

{{wide image|Edo Panorama old Tokyo color photochrom.jpg|750px|Edo, 1865 or 1866. [[Photochrom]] print. Five albumen prints joined to form a panorama.  Photographer: [[Felice Beato]]}}