Changes

Beyond the mere construction of the daimyô mansions themselves, this spurred considerable land reclamation projects and the like, which reshaped the landscape and expanded the city dramatically and rapidly. Very soon, the samurai population of the city alone exceeded 100,000. By the mid-18th century, the total population of the city broke one million, roughly the size of London and Paris combined; only Beijing, which also boasted a population around one million, had anywhere near this number of people.

Beyond the mere construction of the daimyô mansions themselves, this spurred considerable land reclamation projects and the like, which reshaped the landscape and expanded the city dramatically and rapidly. Very soon, the samurai population of the city alone exceeded 100,000. By the mid-18th century, the total population of the city broke one million, roughly the size of London and Paris combined; only Beijing, which also boasted a population around one million, had anywhere near this number of people.

Much of the city was destroyed in the [[1657]] [[Meireki Fire]], as it would be again by fires which swept quickly through the wood and paper landscape, ravaging it. But, reconstruction took place quickly and thoroughly.

Much of the city was destroyed in the [[1657]] [[Meireki Fire]], as it would be again and again by fires which swept quickly through the wood and paper landscape, ravaging it. But, reconstruction took place quickly and thoroughly, and after the Meireki Fire in particular, the city was dramatically reshaped in efforts to prevent fires from spreading as easily. Streets were widened, mud and plaster was applied to roofs, and firebreaks were created. Warrior residences, temples, and shrines previously located within the inner moats of Edo castle were moved outside of the innermost moats, and were replaced with a smaller number of less-densely-packed official residences. This reorganization played a major role in expanding and developing the city, leading previously peripheral areas such as Koishikawa, Asakusa, and Kobikichô to begin to develop into proper urban spaces, some centered on daimyô mansions, while others became thriving commoner areas. The [[Yoshiwara|Shin-Yoshiwara]] ("new Yoshiwara") pleasure district was moved to Asakusa from a location in Ningyôchô (near [[Nihonbashi]]), and the [[Ryogoku Bridge|Ryôgoku Bridge]] was constructed over the [[Sumida River]], leading for the development of thriving commoner districts in those areas.<ref>Gallery labels, "Expansion of Edo," Edo-Tokyo Museum.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/46301312465/sizes/l/]</ref>

The first coastal defenses at the mouth of Edo Bay were constructed in [[1810]], on the heels of the [[1808]] [[Phaeton Incident]] in [[Nagasaki]], and after coastal defense plans proposed by [[Matsudaira Sadanobu]] in the 1790s were scrapped in [[1795]]. Beginning in 1810, Sadanobu, in his position as ''daimyô'' of [[Shirakawa han]], was charged with overseeing the defense of the eastern approaches to the bay, while [[Matsudaira Katahiro]], lord of [[Aizu han]], guarded the west.<ref>Mitani Hiroshi, David Noble (trans.), ''Escape from Impasse'', International House of Japan (2006), 15.</ref>

The first coastal defenses at the mouth of Edo Bay were constructed in [[1810]], on the heels of the [[1808]] [[Phaeton Incident]] in [[Nagasaki]], and after coastal defense plans proposed by [[Matsudaira Sadanobu]] in the 1790s were scrapped in [[1795]]. Beginning in 1810, Sadanobu, in his position as ''daimyô'' of [[Shirakawa han]], was charged with overseeing the defense of the eastern approaches to the bay, while [[Matsudaira Katahiro]], lord of [[Aizu han]], guarded the west.<ref>Mitani Hiroshi, David Noble (trans.), ''Escape from Impasse'', International House of Japan (2006), 15.</ref>