Tokyo
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
formerly called YEDDO, the capital of Japan, and chief residence of the mikado; on a bay of the same name; on the S. E. coast of Hondo, the largest of the Japanese islands, and connected by rail with Yokohama and Kanagawa. The bulk of the houses are of wood, but there are many new buildings of brick and stone. The greater part of the town is flat, and intersected by numerous canals crossed by bridges. The streets are generally narrow and irregular. Education is well organized, and there are 700 private and elementary schools. Tokyo contains the imperial university, and it may be considered the center of the political, commercial, and literary activity of Japan. The total area of the city is about 30 square miles. It is composed of a number of towns rather than forming a single city. The Sumida River divides the city in two equal parts. The eastern portions along the river border and fronting the bay, are level and low. The western portions rise into hills of considerable height, with a dense population in the valleys separating them. The chief architectural feature of the city is the palace enclosure within the grounds of the ancient castle. The palace of the Emperor is constructed in mixed Japanese-European architecture. It stands in the midst of a beautiful park called Fukiage. East of the capital is the commercial portion of the city, with many important banks, shops, hotels and dwellings. A long street passes from northeast to southwest, through the city, and forms the main thoroughfare. It is a broad street with rows of trees and has electric cars and electric lights. Other streets and lanes radiate from it in all directions. While there are some buildings of modern construction, the greater number are old and unimposing. In the northern part of the city is the arsenal, to which is attached a beautiful garden. Other notable buildings are garden. the Imperial University, the Imperial Museum, and several great temples. On the west bank of the Sumida is the Imperial Park. In the southern part of the city is Shiba Park. Beyond this is the temple of Sankakuji. The city has many delightful suburbs. It has few industrial interests, although there are numerous factories in the neighborhood. Pop., about 2,300,000.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's described a city of some 2,300,000 people whose houses were "of wood," laced with canals and narrow lanes — and within two years most of that city was gone. The Great Kanto earthquake and fire of 1 September 1923 killed roughly 105,000 people in Tokyo and Yokohama, and the American incendiary raid of 9–10 March 1945 burned out much of the rebuilt low city, killing about 100,000 more; the Imperial Palace buildings themselves burned in 1945 and were replaced by a new structure in 1968. Today Tokyo Metropolis holds around 14 million people and its urban region roughly 37 million, the largest on earth, with many of the old canals paved over as expressways and the 634-metre Tokyo Skytree standing where Collier's saw "old and unimposing" buildings. The city hosted the Olympic Games in 1964 and again in 2021, and rather than having "few industrial interests" it became the financial and corporate capital of the world's third-largest economy.
Written for this edition, 2026.