Edo-Tokyo Museum

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Last weekend I went with the aforementioned Australians to Ryogoku, in an attempt to see the Sumo competitions, but it was sold out for the day, so instead we went to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. We were given a nice tour by a volunteer guide that spoke English.

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Photos

Nihonbashi Bridge
This is a replica of the Nihonbashi Bridge, which was an important bridge in the past.

Colonial Style Building
A recreation of one of the first Colonial Style buildings that were built in Japan during the Meiji era. I think.

Building and People
The guys in front of the building sang songs and told stories.

Cart thingy
I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure the dude on top is Guan Yu, a prominent figure in Chinese history, and nicknamed the 'God of War'. I think he's good for commerce too, and can be seen very commonly in pictures in Chinese restaurants.

Warrior's Housing
A high-ranking Warrior family would get a big chunk of land like this, and live with hundreds of retainers.

Rank Levels
The left side has the lowest elevation, and is reserved for the lowest class people. In between the levels there are doors that slide open. The middle area contains the daimios (feudal lords) and I think the highest area is opened only when the Shogun is visting. They briefly open the doors, but the low ranking people are not allowed to look at him.

Carriage
I think someone sat in here, and people carried it on their shoulders.

Firefighters
The guy carrying the big white sign thingy would stand on the roof of the burning building, to alert people of where it was, and feel like a hero. I'd bet the roofs caved in and they died alot.

Craftsman
This fellow made things out of wood. This is his workplace and sleeping area.

Portable Shrine
These were carried around. Similar shrines were being carried around Nakano last week, for a festival/celebration.

Mansion
This was created to blend Western and Japanese architecture, and was the meeting place of many foreign diplomats.

Nikolai Cathedral
This was created by a Russian fellow, it still stands today.

Elevator
This building housed Japan's first elevator.

Balloon Incendiary Bomb
In World War 2, thousands of these were sent across the Ocean to the United States. A few landed and caused minor fires.

Comments

[Sue]

WoW !
What a fantastic museum, I'm beginning to rethink Japan as a travel destination ... Great pictures, Matt!

[Jordan]

More Updates
Show some pictures of some hot Japanese girls. They do it to me, everytime. By the way, great stuff so far, but I want to see pictures of that crazy looking guy! And I think we all want to see an update - it's been over 2 weeks! Cheers from EA!