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The appearance of the Nihonbashi district in the early Edo period, as described in Don Rodrigo's "Japan Observation Record".

Kyodai Shoran Figure

This is the sequel to the blog "What happened to Ieyasu Tokugawa" posted on June 2nd. Therefore, I will take up a part of the cityscape of Nihonbashi in the early Edo period in the "Japan Observation Record" written by Don Rodrigo when he happened to stay in Japan. You can feel a lively atmosphere.

　＝The city is generally broader, and straight ahead is better than the Spanish city. Some houses are wooden two-story. The appearance is inferior, but the beauty of the house is more than Spain. The streets are clean and as if no one had ever walked. There are all Kidos in the city, and the plots differ depending on the occupation of the people. A town is a carpenter, and a town is a shoe shop (clogsya, sandals?) There are also parcels of kaji shops, tailors, and merchants in one town. Some of them are not found in Western Europe. Silver merchants have a ward, and there is no situation in which they are mixed with gold, silk, or other merchants. Special places are set up for birds such as quails, ducks, gooses and cranes, and other hunters such as wild rabbits, house rabbits, wild boars and deer are hung in another city.

The first appearance of the fish market in Nihonbashi

The first appearance of the fish market in Nihonbashi The Nihonbashi district of the early Edo period, as described in Don Rodrigo's "Japan Observation Record"

Pictorial drawing of Nihonbashi Fish Market

There is also a fish market. I was told because it was unusual, but there were sea fish, river fish, living and dried foods, and salted ones. In addition, several cauldrons filled with water (keep cages?) They have a lot of fish that live in, and they sell it to those who want it. There are many people who sell fish, so sometimes they go out and sell them cheaply. (It's a batter swing) In addition, there are many types of products in the area that sells blue products and fruits, and it is displayed neatly and attracts the heart of what to buy. In addition, there are only inns, some towns that do not include other houses in between, and some towns are dedicated to buying horses. Travelers have a habit of changing horses every 2 regwa* (approximately 11.14 km), so the number of horses is large. When a traveler arrives, he shows the horse's walking and pushes the horse's choice. The ward with ugly women is always out of town. The nobles and lords live in different areas than other inhabitants, and do not mix with those of different ranks.

Legwa:　This is the unit of distance (legua) used in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries. In Japanese, it is also written as Legwa. It is now 5572.7 meters in Spain.

This is the early figure of the fish shore, which was said to be the heart of Nihonbashi.

Reference:

1)　Derived from Nihonbashi Surugacho (out of print): Kiichiro Okano, the third president of Suruga Bank, drafted by Suruga Real Estate Co., Ltd. Cooperation　　　　　　　　Editing and publishing cooperation:　Chuo Koron Business Publishing

2)　Nihonbashi Private Note:　Yasaburo Ikeda

3)　Nihonbashi Shi:　Ki Kimura

4)　Kyodai Shoran

5)　Record of Japan:　Don Rodrigo

6)　Designated Cultural Property, Chuo-ku 2 Nihonbashi Fish Market Drawing