A historical study of the development of Edo, 1600-1860

Mr. Mogi’s Master’s Thesis is a study of the Japanese city of Edo (now Tokyo) during the Tokugawa period of Japanese History. The book contains 198 numbered pages plus a 3 page appendix on the money of the day. There are 45 listed illustrations which include several fold-out maps. There is a 5 page bibliography. The author is a city planner which directs the contents of the book. The first paragraph of the “Conclusion” chapter highlights the essence of his thinking: “The development of Edo in the period from 1600 to 1860 was a very remarkable monument in the history of the Japanese nation. The change from rice fields and swamps to a highly developed city had taken place in only two and a half centuries. The history of Edo has many elements which may interest a planner. And the pattern of grown gives us many good examples of principles in city planning, such as the direction of community growth, problems of traffic and economic base, political changes and their influence on urban patterns and problems in reconstruction of the city from destruction by fire.”