H i d de n E d o by Yumi Nishio
©Shingo Natori
Though Tokyo is a city of cutting-edge technology, it is also overflowing with historical sights you can see up close—if you know where to look for them.
T
okyo has a long history. It’s the place where the Tokugawa Shogunate, the last feudal Japanese government, settled down during the Edo period (1603 to 1868). During this period, Japan enjoyed a long peace with less warfare among its samurai lords, and as a result of the governmental lockdown of the country, a unique Japanese culture flourished with very little influence from the outside world.
visit them and see the spectacular architecture that demonstrated the power of the shogunate at that time. But these grand buildings do not show you a complete picture of day-to-day life for commoners in the Edo period. Where did Edo commoners go to worship? The working classes’ places of worship were right in their neighbourhoods. These shrines are called ujigami, or chinjugami, meaning a guardian god or a patron spirit that protects a given area. Some of these places of worship can be traced back beyond the Edo period, and these holy places are still there to protect locals even in the busiest areas of the metropolis that is Tokyo.
As the centre of the shogun’s rule, Edo (as Tokyo was then called) boasts numerous big temples and beautiful shrines that were built to protect the government and its people. Most of these sights are listed in Tokyo guidebooks should tourists want to
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