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A close-up on Edo castle / Cultural enlightenment' spots   


The "Foreign settlements" emerged in Tsukiji

Tokyo Tsukiji Hotel Building (Tokyo Tsukiji Hoteru-kan)
Painted by Utagawa Yoshitora 1870 (Meiji 3)

The Tokugawa Shogunate limited the nation's contact with overseas to the Dutchmen (Dutch East India Company), the Chinese (Ming Dynasty, later overthrown by Qing Dynasty), the Koreans (Chosŏn Dynasty) and the Okinawans (Ryūkyū Dynasty) by the middle of 17th century. The "seclusion" policy was only lifted when Western nations came to see the Tokugawa Shogunate and demanded that the ban be lifted. Due to this incident, many foreign settlements emerged in places such as Yokohama, Kobe, Hakodate and Tsukiji, as these ports were open to vessels of the Western nations.

Landscape of Tokyo Tsukiji Teppōzu (Tokyo Tsukiji Teppōzu-kei)
Painted by Utagawa Kuniteru II 1869 (Meiji 2)

The foreign settlements called "Tsukiji-teppōzu" (Akashi-chō in Chuō-ku) was constructed in 1869 (the second year of Meiji period) for the first time as residential area for foreign residents in the city of Edo, which was renamed as Tokyo in 1889. Unlike in Yokohama, which grew into a prosperous city with offices and trading companies, many legations and consulates as well as churches and schools were built by intellectuals such as missionaries, physicians and teachers.
Many Christian schools, such as Aoyama Gakuin, Rikkyo Gakuin, Meiji Gakuin, Joshi Seigakuin, were founded with their headquarters in Tsukiji. Tsukiji grew into an educational district as well as foreign settlement.

* To view more explanation, please click the each image.


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