My name is James Farrer.

I'm a professor of sociology at Sophia University in Tokyo.

Today I'll be exploring Yotsuya, an area in the western part of central Tokyo.

Just off the main thoroughfare, there's a series of temples

that were moved here in the early 17th century...

A ninja motif.

You don't see that every day!

including one associated with the ninja.

I'll venture down historic alleys,

lured by the traditional sounds of the "shamisen."

I'll also visit a shrine associated with a famous Japanese ghost story.

Professor of sociology, James Farrer.

So this is really connecting the past with the present of this neighborhood.

This area is steeped in the traditions of Edo, the former name of Tokyo.

"Dive in Tokyo."

Join me as I go searching for traces of the past in Yotsuya.

The Yotsuya area is located about 2 kilometers west of the Imperial Palace.

Sophia University, where I teach, sits just outside the neighborhood.

Today we'll start there.

That's why we're all reading Aristotle

because there are so many people that echo these ideas.

On this day I gave a lecture on the "Good Life,"

and we discussed what it means to lead a happy life in the city.

Because we're students, I think it's more like social life, friends, relationship maybe.

Sophia University is considered a pioneer in global studies

and hosts a large number of exchange students.

...ideal. So it's like the devotional job.

Professor Farrer, I think he's one of like the few teachers or professors

who actually encourage us to like have discussions and talk.

So I think that's like really important.

We have students from absolutely everywhere,

and even their Japanese students have actually lived actually everywhere,

so they have so many rich experiences.

And they are willing to share those experiences with each other.

And it's a really kind place. I think people are really friendly.

The campus is also home to a historical site that dates back to the Edo period.

It includes this large embankment that was originally built in the 17th century.

There's a tunnel that leads to the other side.

So you can see down here, these are actually the playing fields of Sophia University.

But the playing fields are right where the water used to be in the moat.

So you can sort of imagine if that were water,

that's what the moat would have been like back in the Edo period.

When Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Edo shogunate in 1603,

he ordered a series of moats to be dug around Edo Castle.

33 years later, in 1636, the outer moat was completed.

Sections of it still remain today.

But the part that ran beside the Yotsuya area was filled in after World War II,

and an athletic field and train station were built on top.

To the west of this site is Yotsuya proper.

The main road that runs straight across the street used to be called the Koshu Kaido.

It was one of several major highways developed by the Edo shogunate.

I walk along to the west.

So this says "Yotsuya Yonchome."

That means we're at the end of Yotsuya, and that's Shinjuku over there. So...

if we look at this little sign right here, it says "Yotsuya Okido."

Yotsuya Okido was a gate that served as an entrance to Edo.

Because the Edo period was a time of peace,

people were eventually allowed to come and go freely.

This is what it looked like in the early 19th century.

The Yotsuya neighborhood started to develop along this road.

I decide to explore the south side of the old Koshu Kaido.

As I walk along, I come across about 20 Buddhist temples.

They're all historic spots with roots going back centuries to the Edo period.

So why were so many temples built in this area?

So this is Sainenji.

And this is, I've heard, one of the oldest temples in the neighborhood,

and also closely connected to the history of Yotsuya.

So I'm going to go take a look.

Sainenji Temple was founded in 1593.

Hello!

Hello.

I'm James.

Nishijima Koken is the 29th chief priest.

I hear this is a historic temple.

We've been here since the start of the Edo period.

The ninja...

Ninja!?

The ninja leader Hattori Hanzo founded this temple.

We have themed protective amulets and stamp books.

Interesting. I've never seen that before.

Ninja specialized in espionage and sabotage

during an era of war and chaos.

Hattori Hanzo was the leader of a famous ninja clan.

Right over there.

This man here is Hattori Hanzo.

Him right there?

He lived in the 16th century and served Tokugawa Ieyasu,

the man who would go on to found the Edo shogunate.

This hanging scroll depicts Ieyasu

and 16 of his most trusted samurai generals, including Hattori.

Hattori had this temple built to preserve the memory of Ieyasu's eldest son,

as well as warriors who had perished in battle.

I asked why Yotsuya is home to so many temples.

It has to do with the outer moat of Edo Castle.

It was located where the athletic field and train tracks are today.

To make way for the moat, this temple was moved here.

As the Edo shogunate expanded the castle grounds,

it relocated temples around the site for the outer moat to this neighborhood.

Here's a map of the area in the mid-19th century.

The red patches mark temples, many of which remain today.

When Sainenji Temple was moved here, so was the grave of Hattori Hanzo.

As you can see,

the grave sits at a spot that overlooks the area.

Yotsuya has many hills.

You could say Hattori Hanzo watches over the neighborhood.

This temple is closely connected to the local history.

Yes.

I say goodbye to Sainenji, and continue down a nearby hill.

So this is a pretty hilly area over here.

And...

Seems to be a lot of people up here taking photos. I think it's a lot of tourists.

So...

this is the Suga Shrine right here.

So this is where we're going to go take a look.

It's said that these stairs were the inspiration for a key scene in a famous anime.

They've since become a popular attraction among fans of the film.

These two anime fans are from the city of Shenzhen, China.

How does it feel to be here?

I feel really excited.

It's like we've entered a 2D world, as if we've entered an anime.

I'm really happy.

Suga Shrine was among the places of worship

that were moved here in the early 17th century.

Ever since, it's been seen as the guardian deity of the local community.

I was given special permission to enter the worship hall.

Inside, it's beautifully decorated. Check out that ceiling!

Hello.

I'm James.

I'm junior priest Nakamura. Welcome.

It's a very beautiful shrine.

He tells me that this hall was destroyed in an air raid during World War II.

The elaborate ceiling paintings were all created after the war.

These, on the other hand, appear to be much older.

In the late Edo period, a samurai named Ooka Unpo lived near here.

He painted these. Each includes a poem.

This series of paintings depicts 36 famous Japanese poets.

They were dedicated to the shrine back in 1836.

During the peaceful Edo period,

samurai spent their leisure time not only on martial arts training,

but on aesthetic pursuits such as painting.

There's something else here that dates back to old Edo.

It's housed in the inner chamber along with the shrine's object of worship.

The doors to the inner chamber are usually closed.

This is what it looks like inside.

Wow, it's so ornate!

This is the innermost chamber.

It basically hasn't changed since the Edo period.

It's about 200 years old.

Once a year, during the shrine's June festival,

the doors to the inner chamber are opened,

revealing the gilded sanctum where the deity resides.

During the war, the paintings of the 36 poets were moved into the inner chamber,

which is why they were spared from damage in the air raid.

This shrine is beloved by the community.

Yes. Yotsuya is actually comprised of 18 neighborhoods.

When we hold events, residents really come out to support us.

I've experienced firsthand how the shrine becomes a hub for the community.

There's another local shrine

that became the talk of the town in the early 19th century.

Check out this woodblock print.

Depicted on the right...

is the face of a ghastly spirit.

This is Oiwa, the female protagonist of the ghost story "Yotsuya Kaidan."

Oiwa, the only daughter of the Tamiya family, is betrayed by her husband,

and she comes back as a ghost to seek revenge.

In the early 19th century, the story was adapted into a hit "kabuki" play,

which put this shrine in the spotlight.

Oiwa Inari Tamiya Shrine is closely associated with the legend of Oiwa.

This site has been cared for by generations of the actual Tamiya family.

In the story, the household is wiped out.

It seems the author took some artistic license.

I head inside to find out more.

"Yotsuya Kaidan."

- Hello.
- Hello!

I'm Tamiya Hitoshi. Welcome.

I'm the 11th-generation chief priest.

Tamiya Hitoshi's family line stretches back to the 17th century,

when they had but a small shrine on their residential estate

that housed their tutelary deity.

That's the start of this shrine's story.

At the time, the Tamiyas had hit upon hard times.

It's said Oiwa-san worked very hard to rebuild the family's finances.

Then neighbors started worshipping the house deity,

hoping to share in her good fortune.

That's the origin of this shrine.

It turns out the "Yotsuya Kaidan" story is a work of fiction

intended for popular audiences.

But when the kabuki adaptation became a hit,

the fictionalized version of Oiwa took on a life of her own, so to speak.

The tale has since become one of Japan's most iconic ghost stories,

and each time it's adapted for stage or screen,

cast and crew come to this shrine to pay their respects.

The play involved lots of stage trickery. Mistakes could lead to accidents.

It grew into a superstition that was passed down.

So now the actors come to this shrine to pray for a safe production.

Tamiya-san kindly performed a purification ritual for us.

Alone, you are like acorns,

so may all those involved in the production of your show

come together as one.

What's amazing to me is that these ghost stories also

are connected in to the contemporary practice

where people from film and television will come here

to pray at this shrine for good luck.

And so this is really connecting the past with the present of this neighborhood.

Next, I head to a facility where you can learn about the history

of firefighting in the Edo period.

By the first half of the 18th century,

the population of Edo had grown to over a million people.

Fires were common, so fire prevention was one of the most urgent issues of the day.

So this is a model of an old Edo street.

And it looks like there's a fire emergency going on over here.

The firefighters are actually destroying the things they're supposed to be protecting,

so I'm really curious about that.

- Hello.
- Hello!

I'm, Matsumura, the leader of Yotsuya's "Ku" fire brigade.

Edo's firefighting system was established about 300 years ago.

In neighborhoods of merchants and craftspeople,

firefighting was undertaken by construction workers known as steeplejacks.

Here in Yotsuya, local steeplejacks continue to carry on Edo firemanship traditions.

Back then, the method of firefighting was not to try to extinguish the fire itself.

It was to prevent it from spreading.

So they demolished surrounding buildings that had yet to catch fire.

Each brigade of firefighters had their own "matoi" flag.

When they arrived on the scene,

they'd raise their flag up on a nearby roof to warn residents of danger.

The flag for the Yotsuya brigade is rounded at the top.

That one in the middle there.

In old Edo, there were a total of 64 fire brigades throughout the city.

Later, the brigades were incorporated into modern firefighting companies,

where they continued to serve on the frontlines up until the early 20th century.

Even after they were relieved of their duties,

they've continued preserving their traditions.

You can catch them showing off their physical prowess at special events.

Matsumura-san showed me the matoi flag

he has displayed at the entrance of his home in Yotsuya.

We continue to do repairs and construction work for the community.

We help prepare for festivals.

So we are able to preserve our traditions.

We're grateful that there are people here in Yotsuya

who continue to value the work we do.

As Japan modernized in the late 19th century,

part of the outer moat by Yotsuya was filled in to make way for a train station.

That led to an influx of traffic, and by the early 20th century,

Yotsuya had become the busiest entertainment district on the west side of central Tokyo.

One of the neighborhoods that flourished around that time is now known as Araki-cho.

It's about a 10-minute walk from Yotsuya Station,

and it's home to over 300 restaurants and bars along alleyways paved in stone.

It's a bit off the beaten path, so I'm curious about its history.

I decide to make it my final stop for the day.

Hello.

Hi, I'm Nozaki.

Nozaki Masaoki is well-versed in Araki-cho's history.

I see so many shops down this street. Can you show me around?

OK! Let's go.

Araki-cho is a neighborhood of hills.

Nozaki says the topography shaped the way the neighborhood evolved.

Wow, it keeps going down!

To the right there's a steep staircase.

It's known as the Montmartre steps.

Ah, like in France!

After a few drinks you won't be able to climb those!

At the lowest point in the neighborhood is a park.

Nozaki says this depression used to be a huge pond.

I see there's still a pond.

How big did it use to be?

The water came up to there.

This was all part of the estate of a feudal lord.

- This was the bottom of the pond.
- Yes.

Here's what the estate's garden looked like in the Edo period.

This was all off-limits to the public.

When the samurai era ended, feudal lords had to give up their land.

The garden was opened to the public, and many shops opened around it.

I see.

People swam in the pond.

The scenic garden was turned into a recreational area for the townspeople.

Teahouses opened up along the pond,

sowing the seeds of what the neighborhood would become.

There was a waterfall?

Yes, right there.

It was built at the end of the 19th century.

Apparently, it was a popular place to cool off.

It wasn't long before Araki-cho became a bustling Tokyo attraction.

In the 20th century, this area evolved into a geisha entertainment district.

Here's footage of a local geisha school that was filmed in the 1950s.

Over the decades, the local industry waned,

and by the '80s, geisha establishments had all but disappeared.

Nozaki tells me there's a local business

that is working to preserve Araki-cho's geisha heritage.

This is the proprietor, Fumie.

Shiomi Fumie is a professional geisha.

She offers guests a traditional experience of "kouta" ballads

accompanied by the shamisen.

In this tatami room, a student is in the middle of a music lesson.

In the next room, patrons enjoy drinks at the bar.

Is this what it was like back in Edo times?

Well, I don't know if they had counter-style seating back then.

Customers can also enjoy a drink in our tatami room,

and take in the sounds of the shamisen.

Performed live, of course!

This is one of Fumie-san's local regulars.

She comes here once a month for a kouta lesson.

That was perfect!

When you're playing the shamisen, do you feel a connection to the music of the old days?

When singing and playing the kouta songs, I actually fly to that old era,

surrounded by that geisha era's atmosphere,

which really gives me the impression that

I'm flying back to that really beautiful Edo period.

Fumie-san opened this Araki-cho establishment 10 years ago.

In 2023, she created a performance space for traditional arts right across the street.

She tells me she hopes to carry on Edo traditions like geisha dance,

"bunraku" puppet theater and more.

I'm not a Tokyo native.

I've lived in different neighborhoods and done various jobs.

And this place feels right to me. This is my home.

I am working with the community to preserve geisha culture.

So, Yotsuya is my neighborhood, and today I walked through Yotsuya

but I found new places that I really didn't know that much about.

I went to shrines connected to old ghost stories,

and I went to temples connected to ninjas.

And I came here, drinking at a bar run by a geisha

playing shamisen and singing songs from old Edo.

I realized that you could dive into this neighborhood,

dive back into Tokyo again and again, and find new things.

And that's what I love about Tokyo, and that's what I discovered about Yotsuya today.