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29 — BOOKS
Further Reading
Books for getting to know Tokyo's history and people more deeply — historical novels that bring the city of Edo to life, introductions to daily life in Edo, records of the Great Kanto Earthquake and the Great Tokyo Air Raid, books for walking the city's landforms and waterways, and works portraying Showa-era Tokyo. For before your trip, and after it.
Getting to know Edo and its people
A Day as an Edo Person (Ichinichi Edojin)
An introduction by a manga artist who was also a scholar of Edo customs, presenting the daily lives and pastimes of the people of Edo in an entertaining way, with illustrations (the Life in a City of a Million room).
Recycling in Great Edo (O-Edo Risaikuru Jijo)
From second-hand clothes and repairs to the collection of ash and waste paper, this book explains how Edo's "circular society", which used things up completely, worked.
Onihei's Crime Files (Onihei Hankacho)
A popular series whose hero is Hasegawa Heizo, head of the Hitsuke Tozoku Aratamekata, the shogunate's squad against arson and robbery. It portrays in fine detail the streets of Edo and the warmth — and the food — of the people who lived there.
Strange Tales of Honjo and Fukagawa (Honjo Fukagawa Fushigi Zoshi)
A linked collection of historical mystery stories based on the Seven Wonders of Honjo, such as "Oitekebori" (the Leave-It Moat) (the Urban Legends and Ghost Stories room).
The Casebook of Hanshichi (Hanshichi Torimonocho)
The original of the torimonocho (Edo detective story) genre, in which an old man who had served as a thief-taker in Edo recounts past cases in the Meiji era. It is also known for the accuracy of its portrayal of Edo customs and geography.
Walking the landforms and the water city
Tokyo: A Spatial Anthropology (Tokyo no Kukan Jinruigaku)
A classic that reads the landforms, waterways and structure of the city, from Edo the water city to Tokyo. It will change the way you look at Tokyo's streets (the Rivers, Moats and Buried Streams room).
Enjoying the Ups and Downs: Walks Through Tokyo's "Suribachi" Landforms (Ototsu o Tanoshimu Tokyo "Suribachi" Chikei Sanpo)
A book about walking Tokyo's landforms, calling its valleys and hollows "suribachi" (mortar bowls). It shows how to read cities of slopes and valleys such as Shibuya and Yotsuya (the Yamanote and Daimyo Estates room).
Two burned-out cities
The Great Kanto Earthquake (Kanto Daishinsai)
A work of documentary literature that draws on a vast body of records and testimony to describe in detail the damage caused by the Great Kanto Earthquake and the tragedies brought about by false rumours (the Great Kanto Earthquake and Firebombing room).
The Great Tokyo Air Raid: A Record of 10 March 1945 (Tokyo Daikushu: Showa 20-nen 3-gatsu 10-ka no Kiroku)
A writer who himself lived through the air raid records the single night of 10 March 1945, together with the testimony of many survivors.
Modern and Showa-era Tokyo
A Strange Tale from East of the River (Bokuto Kidan)
A novel of the early Showa era set in Tamanoi, east of the Sumida River. Its fond regret for a changing Tokyo is portrayed together with the scenery of the shitamachi.
The Olympic Ransom (Olympic no Minoshirokin)
A suspense novel set just before the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, portraying the people who, in the shadow of prosperity, did the work of building the city, and a young man who plots to sabotage the Games (the From the Ashes to the Olympics room).
* Publishers and editions listed are representative. Availability may change if titles go out of print or new editions are released.