This time we visit Fukagawa, a district on the eastern bank of the Sumida River. Originally a wetland area by the sea, the land was gradually reclaimed in the Edo period, with a network of canals dug to support shipping traffic. It flourished for many years as a distribution center for various goods, especially timber. We visit a shrine at the heart of the community, meet a group of people carrying on a local tradition of logrolling, and savor a bowl of miso-simmered clams poured over rice.
Today we visit Fukagawa, a district by the water.
This area is home to many rivers
like this one, which was once a busy canal.
In the past, these waterways were used to transport timber and other goods.
Look at that!
They helped imbue this town with tradition and spirit.
That looks so good!
I'm proud to call this my hometown.
Join us as we dive into Fukagawa and discover its unique charm.
The Sumida River runs north to south in eastern Tokyo.
Sitting on its east bank is the Fukagawa area of Koto Ward.
We begin at this bridge.
Right now, I'm standing here on top of the Eitaibashi,
which spans across Sumidagawa.
So, on that side, we have Tokyo Station.
And on this side, we have our topic of today, which is Fukagawa.
So let's have a look.
Originally from Belgium,
Saskia is a university researcher
with a particular interest in Japanese kimono culture.
Fukagawa is home to many waterfront parks,
where you can get away from the hustle and bustle.
It looks like there's a park over there.
Let's go down.
Look! There are a lot of birds. Oh, look!
Even herons? Why? So many!
This park is home to nearly 40 bird species.
Over time, this land has become a sanctuary for these creatures.
Such a nice little road.
Oh, look, look. Over here.
Actually, the address here, it's called "seaside."
But we're in the middle of the city. Why?
To find out more, let's meet with our first guide for the day.
- Hello!
- Hello. Nice to meet you.
Hisazome Takeo used to work as a museum curator.
He's well-versed in the history of this area.
These two rivers intersect at a right angle.
Yes.
The river you were just walking along is called Yokojukken-gawa.
This river here that intersects it is Onagigawa.
Anything else stand out to you about these rivers?
Well... they're very straight!
That's right. Both rivers flow straight.
That tells us that these rivers were made by humans.
Over here to the south, this all used to be the sea.
All of this was the ocean?
Yes, it came up to here. This was the shoreline.
Here's Fukagawa today.
Saskia and Hisazome are standing on this bridge.
400 years ago, much of this area was covered by a shallow sea.
That started to change during the Edo period,
which began in the early 17th century.
The shogunate built Onagigawa to transport goods into the city.
The area facing the bay was gradually reclaimed,
and more waterways were built as Fukagawa grew.
Why did they build canals?
They needed to bring in rice, vegetables and regional specialties.
Edo was a new castle town.
They needed that food to grow the economy.
Canals were the best way to transport large amounts of goods safely.
The equivalent of trucks and highways today.
Yes. Onagigawa became a key artery in the development of Edo.
Saskia and Hisazome decide to take a stroll along the river.
Here's an old woodblock print depicting Onagigawa,
which was dubbed "the salt road" after its primary cargo.
Is this where we are right now?
Yes, roughly speaking.
As Onagigawa developed as a distribution channel,
it also became a common access route for shrine and temple goers.
Koto Ward has a particularly high concentration of bridges.
There are many bridges because there are many rivers.
At the western end where Onagigawa meets the Sumida River is Mannen Bridge.
Here it is depicted in one of Katsushika Hokusai's woodblock prints.
Back during the Edo period, it was built high
so that ships could easily pass under it.
In the early Edo period,
there was a guardhouse on the north side of this bridge.
They controlled the amount of guns and gunpowder coming through.
They inspected the goods being transported.
Just past Mannen Bridge is a small park that overlooks the water.
Look at the river!
What a view!
Look at that.
This is where the Sumida River and Onagigawa intersect.
This area is where the great haiku poet Matsuo Basho
built himself a hermitage in the late 17th century
and took on his famous pen name.
To the south of Onagigawa is Fukagawa's commercial center.
Back in the Edo period, this area was a shallow sea.
Wow, everything looks so good!
Doesn't it?
This area is a quintessential "monzen-machi," or shrine town.
There's a large shrine up ahead called Tomioka Hachimangu.
It's at the heart of the community.
We arrive at Tomioka Hachimangu,
where the people of Fukagawa have worshipped for centuries.
The shrine was founded in 1627.
There is a pair of lion-dog statues
that have been keeping guard for almost 300 years.
Welcome to our shrine.
I'm Matsuki Shinya. Nice to meet you.
Were these grounds originally part of the sea?
Yes. At the time, this area was surrounded by the sea and sandbars.
This shrine was built on an islet called Eitaijima.
Tomioka Hachimangu worked with the Edo shogunate
to reclaim the sandbars and develop the surroundings.
Over time, a neighborhood formed around the shrine.
During the Edo period, the law designated Eitaijima a landfill site.
At the time, waste mostly consisted of wood debris and dredged soil.
They brought it all to this area and reclaimed the land.
That became Fukagawa.
- A landfill!
- Yes.
The shogunate then launched a series of initiatives
to develop the local economy and culture.
Among the attractions was sumo.
Tournaments were held on the shrine grounds.
Shrines are not only places of worship but spaces for entertainment.
The shogunate created attractions to make this a bustling neighborhood.
Another local tradition is the Fukagawa Hachiman Festival held every August.
Here's the shrine's main "mikoshi."
Wow!
A mikoshi is a portable shrine that houses the local deity
as it's paraded around the streets.
This one, weighing in at 4.5 tons, is said to be the largest in Japan.
The roof is painted with gold leaf.
The whole thing is adorned with diamonds.
The most prominent ones are embedded in the lion-dogs by the torii gate.
Their eyes are 3-carat diamonds.
When the mikoshi was dedicated in 1991,
it took about 350 parishioners to carry it.
Due to its massive size, it hasn't been lifted since.
Instead, a smaller one weighing 2 tons was built for festivalgoers to carry.
Once every three years,
it's brought out and paraded down the local streets.
The Fukagawa Hachiman Festival is nicknamed the "Water Splashing Festival"
because the procession is showered with purifying water.
This year, the procession will feature 53 mikoshi from the local communities.
Next, we head to the Saga neighborhood.
The major waterways fed a network of smaller canals in this area.
Because of the proximity to central Edo,
many storehouses were built here to store cargo unloaded from boats.
The small canals provided the boats with easy access.
These buildings along the river used to be storehouses.
This area was the backbone of the Edo economy.
We arrive at the site of the former residence
of the industrialist Shibusawa Eiichi,
who's known as the father of Japanese capitalism.
He played a key role in modernizing the Japanese economy
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
There's an information panel next to the site with a QR code.
Something's coming up. Ah, it's his house!
Try moving your phone around.
Oh wow, how cool!
It's an AR overlay that transports you back to the late 19th century.
The canal is lined with storehouses.
Hisazome brings us to a local museum
where we can learn more about Saga's past.
(Fukagawa Edo Museum)
Wow, look at that!
Amazing.
Oh, a cat!
It's saying hello!
This is a life-size approximation of the neighborhood in the Edo period,
complete with a canal and even a 9-meter-tall fire lookout tower.
This is Saga's main street. You can see it's lined with big shops.
The main street features a rice shop, a store selling produce,
and further down, some storehouses.
Along the backstreets are some row houses.
This is a common area for the residents.
Wells in Fukagawa were generally too salty to drink.
So residents would buy water and keep it in large pots at home.
Potable water was a valuable resource.
Fukagawa flourished thanks to its canals and storehouses.
But over time, the townscape has been greatly transformed.
This area developed in the Edo period.
It's been through many disasters.
Floods, the Great Kanto Earthquake, air raids.
But each time the town revived thanks to the rivers.
That's the power of Fukagawa.
Saskia decides to check out some of the local shops.
Hello.
There are a number of shops along this street
that have been in business for close to a century.
We come upon a collection of toys displayed along the sidewalk.
Here's a mask.
What type of...
Welcome! Are you looking for anything in particular?
I'm very curious... what kind of shop is this?
We get that a lot. We specialize in kimono.
- Kimono?
- Yes.
This kimono shop was founded in 1924.
It's been a part of this community for almost a hundred years,
and has deep ties to the Fukagawa Hachiman Festival.
- Is this denim?
- Yes, it's all denim.
How cool. It's wonderful.
Are these "jikatabi" shoes?
Yes. They're for festivals.
They're basically socks that are meant to be worn outdoors.
Among the community,
we're known more for our festival gear than for our kimono.
During the festival season, we get about 10,000 customers.
10,000! Wow!
- Would you like to try one on?
- I would love to!
The owner's mother will help Saskia put on a traditional festival outfit.
- This is an undershirt.
- I see.
- This is a "handako."
- What's that?
A pair of shorts with a waistband.
They're quite wide!
Don t worry, it'll make sense when you put it on.
How interesting!
Here's how they look when worn.
Next, she dons a "hanten" coat,
an "obi" belt,
and finally, a "hachimaki" headband.
- There you go, all done! OK!
- Thank you!
I really feel like I can go out there and just grab that mikoshi.
It looks like Saskia's really feeling the Fukagawa spirit.
Next, we head to the Kiba neighborhood of Fukagawa.
This area has long been associated with the lumber industry.
Hello!
- I'm Saskia. Thank you for your time.
- My pleasure.
Kato Motokazu's family has been living in Fukagawa for generations.
What does the name Kiba mean?
Kiba means "lumberyard."
This area was home to many lumber wholesalers.
Today, few traces remain of the area's logging past.
But Kato offers to give us a tour.
Did you work in the lumber industry?
Yes. I come from a family of "kawanami."
- Kawanami?
- Yes.
Kawanami was the nickname given to the timber raftsmen of Kiba.
Their job was to sort through timber shipments,
tie the logs together into rafts,
and transport them into the city center.
It was a very specialized and celebrated profession.
We arrive at one of the area's few remaining lumber wholesalers.
Such a great smell!
Hey, Kitai!
Kitai Yoshio is a third-generation lumber merchant.
You have quite a lot of wood!
This is cedar from Akita Prefecture. It's native to Japan.
Here in Kiba lumber companies were very specialized.
One tree can give you many different types of wood.
We specialize in building materials.
Why were there so many lumber wholesalers in Kiba?
During the Edo period, there were many fires.
The shogunate decided to gather flammable materials away from the city center.
That's why there were many lumber companies in Kiba.
Lumber was key for construction,
but because of the many fires that broke out in the city,
the lumberyards had to be relocated time and time again.
In the wake of the Great Fire of Meireki,
a new lumberyard was built in the Kiba area of Fukagawa in 1701.
By the mid-20th century,
the industry had grown to about 1,000 lumber companies.
Kiba flourished as a lumber town for roughly 300 years
until the yards were moved closer to the sea in 1973.
Today, the former site of those yards has been turned into Kiba Park.
Kato says there's a group of people here who carry on the local logging tradition.
Wow, look at that!
Cool, right?
Look at that! Look at how they're floating on top of the water.
Oh, this is so cool.
This group is dedicated to the preservation of "kakunori,"
logrolling techniques developed by the old timber raftsmen.
It has over 20 members ranging from teenagers to people in their 70s.
Using a bamboo rod,
they attempt to spin free-floating square-shaped logs.
Every year, they showcase their skills
at the Koto Residents' Festival held in October.
How did kakunori come about?
Kakunori developed as an extension of our work as raftsmen.
We came up with different stunts.
It was a way to show off our skills.
Here's video of Kato practicing kakunori about 50 years ago.
He receives guidance from his grandfather, a veteran raftsman.
Your elbows, extend your elbows!
More, more, more!
Extend your elbows! Yes!
That's it!
Kato is now teaching his skills to the group alongside Miyashita Minoru,
another former raftsman.
One stunt involves spinning a log while wearing wooden clogs.
Yes, that's it!
Can you go faster?
Suzuki, you want to spin it faster. You're a tad slow.
It's very difficult.
Just keep spinning it!
Ah, you had it!
We started off well.
Etsuko, you were dragging.
That was scary!
In the past, women weren't allowed to do kakunori.
They said we weren't fit for the task.
I'm glad that times have changed.
They even perform acrobatics.
Want to give it a shot?
Yes!
The logs float corner-side up.
They need to be manipulated to create a flat surface to stand on.
That's it, you got it.
- How is it?
- I like it!
It takes a while to learn how to get on by yourself.
Good! You're doing great!
What fun!
It's really difficult. It's like really difficult.
That's my son.
He's holding a folding fan!
My goal is to surpass my father.
Keep dreaming! You got a ways to go.
I'm really sad the kawanami doesn't really exist as work anymore.
But I'm really happy that these people keep the tradition of kakunori living.
How is everyone feeling?
We're great!
Finally, we go in search of a specialty dish that's long been a local favorite.
I think it's here.
- Hello.
- Welcome!
I've come to try Kiba's signature dish.
We serve local cuisine.
In particular, a dish that's been a local staple for centuries.
A broth of short-neck clams poured over rice.
This area used to be right by the sea.
Fukagawa had a fisheries association up until 1962.
They caught a lot of clams.
Are clams something you ate often?
We had no choice!
Every morning before going to school we'd have breakfast.
"Clams over rice again?" It was the taste of my childhood.
The base is a clam and bonito miso broth.
Lightly seasoned and parboiled clams are added,
then a handful of long onion.
Once the mixture comes to a boil,
it's poured over a bowl of steamed rice.
Here you go, one order of "Fukagawa-meshi."
Looks delicious!
I can't wait to dig in!
This humble, comforting dish was a staple for local fishermen.
Oh, it's really good.
It's a bit salty because we have the miso.
And then we have the sweet umami flavor of the "asari" together with the rice.
Really good!
There used to be nothing but lumber wholesalers here.
These streets were quite lifeless.
Oh really?
Oyama says when he was growing up, he often came out here to play.
This town has completely changed.
In the old days this area was filled with log rafts.
I got yelled at for trying to play on them.
Wow!
But it was a lot of fun making the rafts bob up and down.
So I kept doing it, and kept getting yelled at by the raftsmen.
Once in a while they'd slip me some pocket change.
"Don't tell nobody," they'd say. "I hit it big at the gambling house."
What does Fukagawa mean to you?
It's a wonderful place that I'm proud to call home.
This is my favorite place in the world.
Today I learnt that, even though there are not many physical elements
left here in Fukagawa,
it has a deep, deep history with so many wonderful people.
I really loved discovering another hidden gem here in Tokyo,
and I'm really looking forward to coming back here again.