Book Description

The Tokyo region of Japan is, in terms of population, the largest urban area on earth. Its centre comprises the 23 wards of Tokyo itself but the urban sprawl has long since extended to include the other major cities of Kawasaki and Yokohama. From the early 16th century, when the Tokugawa rulers of Japan established their administrative headquarters there, Edo, as it was known, developed quickly into one of the largest cities in the world. It was renamed Tokyo, or 'Eastern Capital', when the Emperor moved there in 1868. In the 20th century most of Tokyo was destroyed first by the Kanto earthquake of 1923 and then by the American bombing of 1945. Nonetheless, it was rapidly rebuilt, and is now, along with London and New York, one of the major control centres of the global economy. Yet behind the ultramodern facade of the main commercial areas, Tokyo remains largely a city of narrow streets and small, intimate neighbourhoods. However, the threat of serious earthquakes remains and the relocation of the capital is being increasingly discussed. This is the first annotated, critical survey of the English-language literature on Tokyo and its region.