Oldest photo of Tokyo( Edo )

[Mackerel]

http://www.geocities.co.jp/HeartLand-Hanamizuki/7242/edo.jpg

At that time, Tokyo is called Edo.
Population is over million and larger than Paris.
This photo was taken 1863 before westernization.

[Imperfect Ending]

Omb... thats cool... I would like to see cities like that

[Nick]

My god!!!!!

That is one of the best photos ive seen of Japan.I really like historical picrtures.Particularly of Japanese cities because they have changed so much since the beggining of the Meiji period and dramatically since World War 2.

Kyoto,from the pictures Ive seen,used to look like that untill the 1950s,when the government decided to knock most of the city down in favour of economic growth.They kept some residential areas and all of the temples.

[Alan934]

Hot damn!

[some_stupid_nut]

OMG! I remember last year we had a project for Ap History. And we had to find Edo on a map. It was so crazy! Nobody knew where it was! Then I looked online and found out it was Tokyo.

[waterloo]

o wow~that is a nice picture! Good to see there is another Japanese forumer now!

[princeofseoul]

Very interesting picture :) Compared to some pictures I took a little while ago of Ginza and Shinjuku, it amazes me how much Tokyo has changed throughout the 20th century -- great city, by the way.

Thanks for sharing with us,

cheers

[Mackerel]

Very interesting picture :) Compared to some pictures I took a little while ago of Ginza and Shinjuku, it amazes me how much Tokyo has changed throughout the 20th century -- great city, by the way.

Thanks for sharing with us,

cheers

If you need the map at Edo period, you can..
We can buy the map of Edo that was publised at Edo period.
And also we can get easily the map of Edo published now.

I must search the online map of Edo.

Ginza was the place where people made the currency.
Shinjuku was out of Edo city.

[Vapour]

That is easily one of the best pics ever posted at SSC, a 1863 Tokyo pic!!! :eek:

Doomo mackerel

[lumpia]

1863??! omg! thats like only 5 yrs before the MEIJI period! :eek: :okay:

but why are the streets so empty?? was Tokyo THAT quiet?? unbelievable! :lol:

[Nick]

Its just amazing.I cant stop looking at it.I would of loved to walk around the streets in that period.

[lumpia]

Its just amazing.I cant stop looking at it.I would of loved to walk around the streets in that period.LOL u sure? u'd probably have been picked up by the Daimyo's guards and sent to him in chains, labelled as an evil "Nanban" (Barbarian) pirate and then grisly crucified without even mention of the word "Trial" let alone a fair one :lol: :crazy: Things sure were different back then eh *COUGH COUGH* :lol:;)

That one pic is the closest WE could even get to imaging taking a stroll down Tokugawa Edo's streets. That's somehow sorta creepy.. Plus the fact that there are no people in the photo at all, despite it being broad-daylight.. even if exposure was longer in photography's first days, there should've been a thick blur and ghostly outlines where the people should be.. but there are none here: meaning its deserted << that only makes it all the more eerier to me :eek:

[ryanr]

:eek: Nice photo! Tokyo was already a huge city back then...:okay:

[Nick]

LOL u sure? u'd probably have been picked up by the Daimyo's guards and sent to him in chains, labelled as an evil "Nanban" (Barbarian) pirate and then grisly crucified without even mention of the word "Trial" let alone a fair one :lol: :crazy: Things sure were different back then eh *COUGH COUGH* :lol:;)

That one pic is the closest WE could even get to imaging taking a stroll down Tokugawa Edo's streets. That's somehow sorta creepy.. Plus the fact that there are no people in the photo at all, despite it being broad-daylight.. even if exposure was longer in photography's first days, there should've been a thick blur and ghostly outlines where the people should be.. but there are none here: meaning its deserted << that only makes it all the more eerier to me :eek:

1863 is post Perry.Not quite Meiji yet but about 7 or 9 years after the Shogan decieded to open up to the west.I think if I were to walk around the streets I would of been treated as a curiosity and probably put up in a compound near the palace and given a very high salary for any infomation related to western technology.

Who knows.In such a situation I could of told the shogan about the joys of the internet,eating Mc Donalds on a hangover and watching Star Trek Voyager on the Super Channel.

[Isan]

Some Classic Beauty community are still remained in the area among EDO 江戸 while I visit to the temple of 帝釋天

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Peaceful and accord with those surrounding

[Vapour]

By the way, dear Japanese forum mates, I'm glad to communicate you that I'll fly to Tokyo within a month :D :cheers:

[Isan]

http://www.worldjournal.com/news_pics/tn106523440700_40700002.JPG

The Yearly Cultural Carnival was held at Edo on last Sunday

[Vapour]

I saw a bit of it on TV

[castermaild55]

http://sea.ap.teacup.com/nikkeif/img/1121647736.jpg
1864.10/29 (It is before 4 years of Meiji Restoration. )
It seems to have introduced EDO in the newspaper of Britain.
The population is 1.3 million people.
The left is a stone wall in the Edo castle.
A right interior is the Edo bay.

[castermaild55]

According to Susan Hanley about Edo
Technological development reached such a level during this time that, historian, Susan Hanley has argued that the level of Japan's metropolitan sanitation from the mid-17th century to mid-19th century surpassed that of the West, both in terms of water supply and waste disposal. Population and mortality rates testify to the fact that a healthier environment was created for urban populations. Customs concerning hygiene, food and drink, combined with the lack of domestic animals, meant that Japanese city life was more sanitary than in the West

http://coombs.anu.edu.au/SpecialProj/APM/TXT/low-m-02-96.html

[elfreako]

OMG, wouldn't it be awesome just to wander around the streets and little alleyways getting hopelessly lost exploring this amazing town during that time.

[Mosaic]

I can't believe my eyes.Really beautiful city.

[Renkinjutsushi]

That is a very awesome pano!

I love looking at pics of pre-Kanto Quake Edo/Tokyo. :)

[castermaild55]

Kanto-earthquake 1923.sep.1st Video of Tokyo
http://edu.city.sasayama.hyogo.jp/video/mukashi/kanto2.wmv
http://edu.city.sasayama.hyogo.jp/video/mukashi/kanto3.wmv

[castermaild55]

Old Tokyo
http://www.oldtokyo.com/tokyoearthquake1923.html

[xXx carlos xXx]

:eek: Nice photo! Tokyo was already a huge city back then...:okay:
yah... its amazing... it was taken on 1863? wow... that is sooo cool

[Mosaic]

I need more pics,pls????

[castermaild55]

1875 Ginza
http://sea.ap.teacup.com/nikkeif/img/1144132210.jpg
meiji 7 Ginza?
http://www.yurindo.co.jp/yurin/back/425_m-tokyo_g-renga.html
1887 Ginza
http://sea.ap.teacup.com/nikkeif/img/1144132263.jpg
http://sea.ap.teacup.com/nikkeif/img/1144132340.jpg
1875 nihonbashi
http://sea.ap.teacup.com/nikkeif/img/1144133486.gif
1876 nihonbashi,kabuto-cho national 1st bank
http://sea.ap.teacup.com/nikkeif/img/1144133453.gif
http://www.yurindo.co.jp/yurin/back/425_m-tokyo_ginko.html
1891 nihonbashi
http://sea.ap.teacup.com/nikkeif/img/1144132360.jpg
1891 kanda
http://sea.ap.teacup.com/nikkeif/img/1144132305.jpg
1891 kudanshita
http://sea.ap.teacup.com/nikkeif/img/1144132283.jpg
1885 Yokohama, Kirin beer Brew
http://sea.ap.teacup.com/nikkeif/img/1144132227.jpg
1886 Tsukiji foreign settlement
http://sea.ap.teacup.com/nikkeif/img/1144132246.jpg
1895 in front od Diet house,after sino-japan war,triumphal return
http://sea.ap.teacup.com/nikkeif/img/1144132322.jpg

[castermaild55]

1866 House of Satsuma domain in Shiba Tamachi ,Edo http://sea.ap.teacup.com/nikkeif/img/1144137022.jpg

[Mosaic]

Thank you so much, Caster, Those are truly priceless collection indeed. Tokyo in the past was already dense.

[Mosaic]

I can't believe how Ginza can change to be like nowaday compare with it's used to be like in the old time.

[castermaild55]

change of Ginza and Taisho democracy
http://www.ginza.jp/movie/wmv/ZANZOU.wmv

http://www.ginza.jp/movie/index.html

[Mosaic]

Thanks again, caster for URL.

[Unsing]

1866 House of Satsuma domain in Shiba Tamachi ,Edo http://sea.ap.teacup.com/nikkeif/img/1144137022.jpgnow :)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Zakurozaka.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/%21%21%21%E6%A1%82%E5%9D%82.JPG

[ThaiSiamese]

WOW!! Very nice comparison. I really like the way Tokyo had changed from the past century to this present day.

[castermaild55]

Unsingーsan

thanks!!:)

[Mosaic]

Great change!!!! unbelievable.

[Bryan-Sereny]

wow, all those buildings so close together! Wouldnt want to get lost in there.

[coldstar]

I can't believe my eyes.Really beautiful city.


agree. Tokyo was an extremely beautiful city during Edo period (even before WW2. )
I have seen the pics of Tokyo's financial districts during Taisho era (1912-1926. before WW2) in a Japanese encyclopedia before.
Those pics were amazingly beautiful, looked like 'City' in London. Tokyo used to be the model of Japan's modernization.

How come Tokyo fell into such an ugly city!

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (around 1870s), you can see Samurais(government executives) in front of the house.
http://www.mlit.go.jp/gobuild/kasumi/history/photo/l_kuroda.jpg
Tokyo's first modern admistrative district (current Kasumigaseki), all designed by German famous architects such as Mr. Ende.
(At first, the Meiji government made the British architects design the city, but their plan was not accepted.)
http://www.mlit.go.jp/gobuild/kasumi/history/photo/l_ende.jpg

1st temporary Capitol Hill (designded by a German): 1891
http://www.mlit.go.jp/gobuild/kasumi/history/photo/l_gijido01.jpg
2nd temporary Capitol Hill (designded by a German): 1892. (it was constructed after 1st building had been burned down in 1892)
http://www.mlit.go.jp/gobuild/kasumi/history/photo/l_gijido02.jpg
department of justice (also designed by a German):1896
http://www.mlit.go.jp/gobuild/kasumi/history/photo/l_shihou.jpg

[Unsing]

http://366days.net/konoe/SeoulColor.jpg
I found a colored version of that pano.

This was taken by Felice Beato from Mt. Atago (26 m), which used to be famous for its view.
I'm not sure, but that green place seen on the middle of the pic is the Hama Rikyu Garden?

And Mt. Atago today.
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/7288/cimg1997or0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[coldstar]

http://366days.net/konoe/SeoulColor.jpg
I found a colored version of that pano.

This was taken by Felice Beato from Mt. Atago (26 m), which used to be famous for its view.
I'm not sure, but that green place seen on the middle of the pic is the Hama Rikyu Garden?

http://sea.ap.teacup.com/nikkeif/img/1121647736.jpg
1864.10/29 (It is before 4 years of Meiji Restoration. )
It seems to have introduced EDO in the newspaper of Britain.
The population is 1.3 million people.
The left is a stone wall in the Edo castle.
A right interior is the Edo bay.
Thanks guys.
maybe Unsing is right. The Edo castle is not taken on the photo, but Mt. Atago.
Thus, Shiba Zoujoji Temple (currently Tokyo Tower is located there) is on the right?

[Unsing]

http://img477.imageshack.us/img477/5121/rstf4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

At long last I was able to figure out the whole thing.
This panorama covers Ginza-Shimbashi-Shiodome-Hamamatsucho-Shiba area, and the street in front is what is called Uchibori Dori today.

[Unsing]

These pics are all from Kimbei Kusakabe, Felice Beato's pupil


Zojoji Temple
http://images.nypl.org/?id=110034&t=w

Ginza
http://images.nypl.org/?id=110040&t=w

Shinobazu Pond, Ueno
http://images.nypl.org/?id=110041&t=w

Asakusa
http://images.nypl.org/?id=110043&t=w

Mukoujima
http://images.nypl.org/?id=110044&t=w
http://images.nypl.org/?id=110045&t=w

Oji
http://images.nypl.org/?id=110049&t=w

[Vapour]

:master: :master: :master: :master: :master:

[godblessbotox]

very very very good thread. thank you everyone!

man i wish the camera was invented 1oo years earlier

[ALKUN]

THOSE PICTURES ARE REALLY NICE.
IT REMINDS ME THE MOVIE "THE LAST SAMURAI"

REALLY GREAT !!!!

[intramuros]

Very nice photographs. I love looking at old pictures of the past, but also comparisons on how they look today, and where they are. Thank you. :)

[intramuros]

Beautiful pictures! Sometimes it's hard to believe it was like that before. So magical. I really enjoy looking at old photos of places and how they were back then. I also enjoy looking at comparisons at how these places look today. Thank you! :)

[kiku99]

yes, those pictures are very nice....

[ThaiSiamese]

This is a very hard to find collection. Thank you for posting. :)

[Mosaic]

those pics are real treasure.

[Unsing]

The bridge shown in front in the older pic is now under the highway.

Look. This is the change for about a century.

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/1548/6078rz4.png (http://imageshack.us)

http://askayama.net/machicard/tokyo23/minato/ginzashimbashi.jpg

[Unsing]

Sorry, I posted wrong pics.
It was recently found that by "Satuma" the photographer had meant not Satsuma domain, but Sadohara domain, which was derived from Satsuma. They had a house around there, but it's not shown in this pic.

Here is the right one.

1866 House of Satsuma domain in Shiba Tamachi ,Edo http://sea.ap.teacup.com/nikkeif/img/1144137022.jpg

http://web.sfc.keio.ac.jp/~takuyaw/weblog/CA250005.JPG

[ALKUN]

I REALLY LOVE THIS PICTURE OF GINZA
I WISH THEY WOULD HAVE KEPT SOME OF THE OLD HOMES.
WELL!! I KNOW THAT IT'S IMPOSSIBLE.
TOKYO WENT THRU A LOT OF EARTHQUAKES AND THE WAR.:ohno:

http://sea.ap.teacup.com/nikkeif/img/1144132340.jpg

[Ellatur]

wow awesome pictures guys!

[asif iqbal]

absolutly amazing pictures very nice indeed

[ALKUN]

JAPANESE SAMURAI 1860

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/5246/japanesesamurai1860shj8.jpg

[Andrew]

This is the coolest thread ever! It's just such a shame that so much was lost.

[Waldenstrom]

It looks like old Spanish Manila. :)

[Emirati_Girl]

Great Japan!!!..,, i wanna go there >,<

[alsen]

look amazing. thanks for the pics

[japanese001]

The Meiji era

凌雲閣　ryou un kaku

1890 completion, 52m high, the 12 floor
A first electromotive-type elevator was installed in Japan
It was broken by the Great Kanto Earthquake

http://img388.imageshack.us/img388/7770/r1xt8.jpg

[Grams]

:booze:
http://oldphoto.lb.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/jp/
http://zoomphoto.lb.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/
http://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/dglib/
http://www.sanno.ac.jp/hikoma/index.html
http://j-footage.vox.com/