Editing Edo (section)

=== 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]]}}