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Tokyo from Edo to Showa 1867-1989: The Emergence of the World's Greatest City
"These two volumes by Edward Seidensticker may well be the envy of every university press…desirable reading for amateur historians and tourists alike."— Thomas Stanley, Director of Walk Japan Limited
There can be few cities in the world that live, pulsate, and breathe through their geography as Tokyo does, few cities with a history that shifts through the creases of space as does that of Tokyo. This is particularly ironic in a city whose neighborhoods today hold few distinctive features and whose gentle topography has been all but obscured by batteries of building. But it was not always so, and what better way is there of writing Tokyo's history than by reflecting this shifting geography as neighborhoods prospered and declined while others, more aspirational, climbed up the socio–spacial ladder? This is precisely what Edward Seidensticker does in the pages of these books, brought together here together for the first time under one cover with numerous illustrations and an insert of beautifully colored Japanese woodblock prints of Tokyo from the era.
From Edo to Showa tells the story and history of Tokyo's transformation from the Shogun's capital in an isolated Japan to one of the most renowned modern cities in the world. With the same scholarship and style that won him admiration as one of the premier translators of Japanese literature, Seidensticker offers the reader his own brilliant picture of a whole society suddenly emerging into the modern world. By turns elegiac and funny, reflective and crisp, From Edo to Showa is an important cultural history of Asia's greatest city.
There can be few cities in the world that live, pulsate, and breathe through their geography as Tokyo does, few cities with a history that shifts through the creases of space as does that of Tokyo. This is particularly ironic in a city whose neighborhoods today hold few distinctive features and whose gentle topography has been all but obscured by batteries of building. But it was not always so, and what better way is there of writing Tokyo's history than by reflecting this shifting geography as neighborhoods prospered and declined while others, more aspirational, climbed up the socio–spacial ladder? This is precisely what Edward Seidensticker does in the pages of these books, brought together here together for the first time under one cover with numerous illustrations and an insert of beautifully colored Japanese woodblock prints of Tokyo from the era.
From Edo to Showa tells the story and history of Tokyo's transformation from the Shogun's capital in an isolated Japan to one of the most renowned modern cities in the world. With the same scholarship and style that won him admiration as one of the premier translators of Japanese literature, Seidensticker offers the reader his own brilliant picture of a whole society suddenly emerging into the modern world. By turns elegiac and funny, reflective and crisp, From Edo to Showa is an important cultural history of Asia's greatest city.
650 pages, Paperback
First published December 10, 2010
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286 people want to read
About the author
Edward G. Seidensticker
61 books39 followersEdward George Seidensticker was a distinguished American scholar, translator, and historian renowned for his translations of Japanese literature, both classical and modern. Born in 1921 near Castle Rock, Colorado, Seidensticker studied English at the University of Colorado and later became fluent in Japanese through the U.S. Navy Japanese Language School during World War II. He served in the Pacific theater as a Marine language officer, later participating in Japan’s occupation and developing a lasting affinity for the country and its culture.
Following his military service, he earned a master’s degree from Columbia University and briefly worked in the U.S. Foreign Service in Tokyo. Deciding on an academic path, he studied Japanese literature at the University of Tokyo and began translating major literary works. His translations of Yasunari Kawabata’s Snow Country and Thousand Cranes helped introduce modern Japanese literature to a Western audience and contributed to Kawabata’s Nobel Prize win in 1968. Seidensticker also translated works by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki and Yukio Mishima, and his 1976 translation of The Tale of Genji remains a landmark achievement.
He taught at Stanford, the University of Michigan, and Columbia University. Seidensticker also authored literary criticism, cultural histories, and a memoir. He received numerous honors and remains a towering figure in the field of Japan studies.
Following his military service, he earned a master’s degree from Columbia University and briefly worked in the U.S. Foreign Service in Tokyo. Deciding on an academic path, he studied Japanese literature at the University of Tokyo and began translating major literary works. His translations of Yasunari Kawabata’s Snow Country and Thousand Cranes helped introduce modern Japanese literature to a Western audience and contributed to Kawabata’s Nobel Prize win in 1968. Seidensticker also translated works by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki and Yukio Mishima, and his 1976 translation of The Tale of Genji remains a landmark achievement.
He taught at Stanford, the University of Michigan, and Columbia University. Seidensticker also authored literary criticism, cultural histories, and a memoir. He received numerous honors and remains a towering figure in the field of Japan studies.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 12, 2016
...wow amazing, only one review. Seidensticker-Keene-Richie, the big three of Japan studies...hmm, if military history is a world of ten people, Japan studies is just five. Ruth Benedict + one other person I think round out the entire post-war Japan studies group, although there are a bunch of new names associated with post-modern lit / translations.
this is a portmanteau work, combining the 1990 and 1991 volumes of Low City, High City; and Tokyo Rising. it started sufficiently slowly (Japan in the 1867 - 1890 time period is just medieval rituals and absolutely rigid social codes), but then picked up, offering some tantalizing tidbits about the evolution of the metropolis Tokyo. as fate would have it, 1989 sort of marked the peak of Tokyo's physical and economic growth; since then, things have happened, but actually much of the physical city is the same.
in some passages, beats Yasunari Kawabata's Scarlet Gang of Asakusa in terms of characterization of Asakusa and Tokyo in the 1920s
some exciting coverage of modern Tokyo's 'zoku' or tribes; a little less coverage of unique Shimokitazawa / Shibuya than their current importance to the youth of Japan (Seidensticker too old to realize this...)
this is a portmanteau work, combining the 1990 and 1991 volumes of Low City, High City; and Tokyo Rising. it started sufficiently slowly (Japan in the 1867 - 1890 time period is just medieval rituals and absolutely rigid social codes), but then picked up, offering some tantalizing tidbits about the evolution of the metropolis Tokyo. as fate would have it, 1989 sort of marked the peak of Tokyo's physical and economic growth; since then, things have happened, but actually much of the physical city is the same.
in some passages, beats Yasunari Kawabata's Scarlet Gang of Asakusa in terms of characterization of Asakusa and Tokyo in the 1920s
some exciting coverage of modern Tokyo's 'zoku' or tribes; a little less coverage of unique Shimokitazawa / Shibuya than their current importance to the youth of Japan (Seidensticker too old to realize this...)
July 13, 2014
Tokyo from Edo to Showa 1867-1989 (2010) may be the best comprehensive social history of Tokyo from the acclaimed translator of Yasunari Kawabata and Junichiro Tanizaki among others, Edward Seidensnicker. There is a preface by film critic and historian Donald Richie as well as an introduction by Japanese scholar Paul Waley. This volume is essentially a combination of a two volume series on the social history of Tokyo starting with the first volume Low City, High City: Tokyo from Edo to the Earthquake: How the Shogun's Capital Became a Great Modern City, 1867-1923 (1984). The chapters in the book include: 1) "The End and the Beginning" 2) "Civilization and Enlightenment" 3) "The Double Life" 4) "The Decay of the Decadent" 5) "Low City, High City" 6) "The Taisho Look." Seidensnicker chose to use the Great Earthquake as a dividing point instead of the end of the Taisho era (which ended December 25th 1926) since it created an opportunity to rebuild the city anew and ushered in a new age socially and culturally. This in turn leads to the second volume: Tokyo Rising: The City Since the Great Earthquake (1990). This books has the following chapters: 1) "The Days After" 2) "The Reconstruction Days" 3) "Darker Days" 4) "The Day of the Cod and the Sweet Potato" 5) "Olympian Days" 6) "Balmy Days of Late Showa." I guess the main drawback for this volume is that it ends before "the Bubble" burst in Japan and Tokyo, but I think it was the earlier chapters that were really most interesting. Although I must admit it was interesting to see him correctly identify areas of Tokyo that would develop and become major centers of commerce like Roppongi, Shiodome, and Marunochi. It is clear that Edward Seidensnicker, like Donald Richie had great affection for Tokyo and it's traditions. One of my summer projects is to read Seidensnicker's translation of The Tale of Genji and then his memoir about this project, Genji Days.
April 27, 2022
Written by the translator of many of Japan's most famous 20th century authors, the two books contained in this volume trace the evolution of modern day (well...up to the late 80s...he didn't know what was around the corner...bubble about to pop...) Tokyo from the Edo it once was.
While full of plenty of actual research and many very specific details, it's a far more engaging and personal look at the city's past than one might find with a more academic text. Seidensticker spent the vast majority of his life in Tokyo and one really gets the sense of this when reading...the things that intrigue him or annoy him (he's wonderfully both nostalgic and curmudgeonly...especially about manga!) and the people, particularly writers, who he either knew personally or knew of. He actually includes descriptions from novels or non-fiction works from writers like Kafu or Tanizaki that describe the Tokyo they know (or think they know, wish they knew, wish still existed...).
This is also a wonderful book for people with a wide variety of interests, as Seidensticker seems to have been, as it ranges all over the place, from subway lines and sewers (or lack thereof) to celebrated Meiji murderesses who played themselves on stage in plays about the murders they'd committed to prefectural rezoning to the horrors of World War II bombing and the 1923 Kanto Earthquake.
As a long-time resident of Tokyo, what I appreciated most about this book was perhaps the way that Seidensticker is able to explain so clearly and concisely (well, mostly concisely) the geography and layout (and makeup) of what seems such a chaotic and jumbled large city to many...and he does this so incredibly effectively in terms of its evolution over time as well. It's so incredible to think of the land of Marunouchi (south of the Imperial Palace), home to the most expensive real estate of all time at the time he wrote the book in the late 80s, being a barren home for badgers and gamblers in early Meiji after it emptied out after its early use as a home for regional samurai families during the Edo period came to an end.
Seidensticker's translation of landmarks might throw a few people though! Never heard anyone call the West Exit of a translation "Westmouth" before (though this is technically sort of right...西口）and he also translates names of buildings that tend to be known by their romanized names in English (like Budokan, Kokugikan, etc.).
Highly recommended for anyone living in Tokyo or interested in the history of Tokyo...which tends to get overlooked for the history of Kyoto, etc. when you first get into Japanese history.
While full of plenty of actual research and many very specific details, it's a far more engaging and personal look at the city's past than one might find with a more academic text. Seidensticker spent the vast majority of his life in Tokyo and one really gets the sense of this when reading...the things that intrigue him or annoy him (he's wonderfully both nostalgic and curmudgeonly...especially about manga!) and the people, particularly writers, who he either knew personally or knew of. He actually includes descriptions from novels or non-fiction works from writers like Kafu or Tanizaki that describe the Tokyo they know (or think they know, wish they knew, wish still existed...).
This is also a wonderful book for people with a wide variety of interests, as Seidensticker seems to have been, as it ranges all over the place, from subway lines and sewers (or lack thereof) to celebrated Meiji murderesses who played themselves on stage in plays about the murders they'd committed to prefectural rezoning to the horrors of World War II bombing and the 1923 Kanto Earthquake.
As a long-time resident of Tokyo, what I appreciated most about this book was perhaps the way that Seidensticker is able to explain so clearly and concisely (well, mostly concisely) the geography and layout (and makeup) of what seems such a chaotic and jumbled large city to many...and he does this so incredibly effectively in terms of its evolution over time as well. It's so incredible to think of the land of Marunouchi (south of the Imperial Palace), home to the most expensive real estate of all time at the time he wrote the book in the late 80s, being a barren home for badgers and gamblers in early Meiji after it emptied out after its early use as a home for regional samurai families during the Edo period came to an end.
Seidensticker's translation of landmarks might throw a few people though! Never heard anyone call the West Exit of a translation "Westmouth" before (though this is technically sort of right...西口）and he also translates names of buildings that tend to be known by their romanized names in English (like Budokan, Kokugikan, etc.).
Highly recommended for anyone living in Tokyo or interested in the history of Tokyo...which tends to get overlooked for the history of Kyoto, etc. when you first get into Japanese history.
August 11, 2022
In this classic, rather comprehensive compendium, the author takes us into the long history of Tokyo, probably one of the largest, and most influential metropolis in the world. From its rise as the seat of Tokugawa Shogunate, the military ruler of all Japan (while the Emperor, revered as God but having a rather useless, symbolic use, was idling in Kyoto, the imperial capital), then the Meiji Restoration, when Emperor Meiji and the people loyal to him, rather than the Shogunate, sought to drag Japan to modern world, followed by roaring twenties which came to be wrecked twice, first by Great Kanto Earthquake, then by Global Depression, a period which was followed by Japan’s militarization and subsequent participation in World War 2, in which Tokyo was subjected to firebombing by Americans. The following Cold War proved to be boon to Tokyo people, who, with American support, was able to bring economic reconstruction, with Tokyo became the host of 1964 Summer Olympics. The book ends with the passing of Hirohito, a.k.a. Showa Emperor, conveniently leaving the lost decade unmentioned.
Within this book, the author describes the gradual growth of Tokyo from the sleepy rural of Edo, to what it was in the eighties in detail. Telling the stories of zones, or wards as it called. However the descriptions were not adequately supported with illustration, which is certainly unhelpful for people who have no idea on what Tokyo looks like. However, I soldiered on and finish this book.
Within this book, the author describes the gradual growth of Tokyo from the sleepy rural of Edo, to what it was in the eighties in detail. Telling the stories of zones, or wards as it called. However the descriptions were not adequately supported with illustration, which is certainly unhelpful for people who have no idea on what Tokyo looks like. However, I soldiered on and finish this book.
February 18, 2022
From Edo to Tokyo, a modern and urban perspective based on city cultural history, Tokyo is indeed a fascinating city
October 17, 2022
作者很热爱东京这座城市啊。（通读下来，感受到译者和编辑真的很吃力。下次要找英文原著来读。）
December 19, 2013
I've only ever attempted one city history before, and that was Peter Ackroyd's 'biography' of London (2000). Seidensticker's equally mammoth history of Tokyo, in comparison, is consistently more interesting - and coherent.
Seidensticker is of course one of the most respected translators of Japanese literature into English, and the beauty of his landmark Genji and Kawabata editions long ago helped draw me into the world of Japanese literature. Tokyo was the city he loved and lived in for most of his long life and here he gives it his unwavering attention over many many pages.
For a book this size, it could be just about as good a history of Tokyo as may be possible, and considering it's written by a non-Japanese, that's an even bigger triumph. At times it focuses too much on politics, pleasure quarters and theatres for my liking, but these are all important parts of Tokyo's history and the prose is never less than engaging.
We're only taken up to 1989, end of the Showa reign (publication of the second of the two volumes was in 1990). Kenzo Tange's bold new Metropolitan Government Offices were just going up at Shinjuku (there's a photo), and Japan was starting to falter at what we now realise was the apex of its long and astonishing climb out of post-war poverty to world-beating economic powerhouse. Long-term stagnation would follow, right up to the present day. Seidensticker couldn't have known this. I'd love to know what he would made of developments since then.
Seidensticker is of course one of the most respected translators of Japanese literature into English, and the beauty of his landmark Genji and Kawabata editions long ago helped draw me into the world of Japanese literature. Tokyo was the city he loved and lived in for most of his long life and here he gives it his unwavering attention over many many pages.
For a book this size, it could be just about as good a history of Tokyo as may be possible, and considering it's written by a non-Japanese, that's an even bigger triumph. At times it focuses too much on politics, pleasure quarters and theatres for my liking, but these are all important parts of Tokyo's history and the prose is never less than engaging.
We're only taken up to 1989, end of the Showa reign (publication of the second of the two volumes was in 1990). Kenzo Tange's bold new Metropolitan Government Offices were just going up at Shinjuku (there's a photo), and Japan was starting to falter at what we now realise was the apex of its long and astonishing climb out of post-war poverty to world-beating economic powerhouse. Long-term stagnation would follow, right up to the present day. Seidensticker couldn't have known this. I'd love to know what he would made of developments since then.
June 15, 2017
https://101booksjapan.blogspot.ca/
It's incredible to read a history book completed in 1990 and have it still feel fresh. That's likely because the bulk of the time covered is pre-Second World War. It's a fascinating look at how the history has evolved -- how neighbourhoods have changed, the culture has changed, and ultimately how Edo became Tokyo.
Seidensticker masterfully traces the shift from the Low City to the High City -- from the neighbourhoods of Edo to the bustling new population centres of Tokyo. What's most rewarding is it is not a civic history -- though politics is blended in -- it's a social history and cultural history. Some of the most important snapshots are provided by writers -- not historians.
I'm now looking forward to a more modern biography of the city to catch up on the last 25 years!
It's incredible to read a history book completed in 1990 and have it still feel fresh. That's likely because the bulk of the time covered is pre-Second World War. It's a fascinating look at how the history has evolved -- how neighbourhoods have changed, the culture has changed, and ultimately how Edo became Tokyo.
Seidensticker masterfully traces the shift from the Low City to the High City -- from the neighbourhoods of Edo to the bustling new population centres of Tokyo. What's most rewarding is it is not a civic history -- though politics is blended in -- it's a social history and cultural history. Some of the most important snapshots are provided by writers -- not historians.
I'm now looking forward to a more modern biography of the city to catch up on the last 25 years!
January 20, 2011
Plenty of random entertaining factoids, scattered about, just what I was hoping for. The book (actually 2 books) also offers an unexpectedly candid glimpse into Seidensticker himself - his off-the-cuff theories of literary history were a treat. The tone is most often ironically elegiac, fully aware of its own futility and maybe even wrong-headedness. I was somewhat (though not entirely) surprised by the sheer number of pages documenting the falling fortunes of the various pleasure quarters - an nostalgia even Seidensticker himself seems to realize he cannot fully justify.
April 29, 2016
Read for our book group as I live in Tokyo. This book was very interesting and filled with detailed history as well as unique facts. I must say it was a challege to read a history book at night, and it made me sleepy. I will now progress to volume #2 Tokyo Rising.
July 13, 2017
Started reading this not long after I moved to Tokyo. It's a lengthy social history, written by an American, Seidensticker, who was a Japanese linguist/translator and a literature buff. As such, he rather over-indulges in literary references which are of little relevance to the average English reader. Otherwise, it's a fairly objective and balanced history of the decline of the low city and rise of the high city, with various anecdotes along the way. Great period photographs included (albeit small). Somehow, though, the book never greatly held my interest... I think maybe a more linear history of the city would be more enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews