Abstract
This article proposes a reinterpretation of the meaning and function of the basic sociospatial unit of the early modern Japanese city, the chō. It argues that chō is best understood not as a fixed unit of space but as a conception that could expand, change, and even move. Takanawa-chō, a peripheral area south of Edo, was transformed into the gateway to the city by its association with the transportation industry. The dynamic movement of this particular "flowing chō" not only reflected but also drove the socioeconomic transformation of the city throughout the Tokugawa period and into the early Meiji era.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 3-36 |
| Number of pages | 34 |
| Journal | The Journal of Japanese Studies |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 7 Feb 2024 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 7 Feb 2024 |
Bibliographical note
I extend my sincere gratitude to Amy Stanley for reading various versions of this article since it started as a term paper. I am grateful to Nishiki Kōichi, Narita Ryūichi, Iwamoto Shōko, Kumai Tamotsu, and Yuan Jiaxing for generous help and support during my research in Japan. I also thank the journal’s editors and anonymous reviewers for valuable suggestions for improvements.Publisher Copyright:
© 2024, Society for Japanese Studies. All rights reserved.
Funding
Research for this article was supported by the Japan Foundation, the Northeast Asia Council of the Association for Asian Studies, and the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs at Northwestern University.
