2024 Volume 80 Issue 10 Article ID: 24-00028
This study undertakes a comprehensive analysis of the “Tokugawa Jikki”, the official history of the Edo Shogunate, focusing on social infrastructure development and other institutions in the Edo area, with the aim of elucidating the realities of such development. The findings revealed that frequent occurrences of fires occasioned the continuous issuance of legal measures mandating the conversion of thatched and shingle roofs to tiled roofing. There was also a recommendation to use oyster shells for roofing, but this practice was only observed for a period of just over seven years. The establishment of firebreaks (open spaces in Edo town intended for fire prevention) was also an ongoing project, and legal measures were issued to maintain these areas as vacant land. The issuance of regulations concerning the excavation of new waterways (and moats) used for boat transportation and other purposes was concentrated in the early Edo period, with the focus shifting over time to regulations concerned with waterway maintenance and management. The study also revealed the regular issuance of legal measures intended to prohibit illegal dumping and concerning the dredging of waterways.
