− | * Shogun [[Tokugawa Ietsuna|Ietsuna]] ordered 4 [[Hatamoto]] to form firefighter units "Jô Bikeshi" (定火消し) after [[Great Meireki Fire]] in [[1657]]. They set fire stations in Iidabashi, Ichigaya, Ochanomizu, and Koujimachi. | + | * Shogun [[Tokugawa Ietsuna|Ietsuna]] ordered 4 [[Hatamoto]] to form firefighter units "Jô Bikeshi" (定火消し) after [[Great Meireki Fire]] in [[1657]]. They set fire stations in Iidabashi, Ichigaya, Ochanomizu, and Kôjimachi. Two initial ''jô-bikeshi'' fire brigades later expanded to ten, overseen by the ''[[wwakadoshiyori]]'', and based at firehouses arranged in an arc across the north and west of the city (the direction from which winds blew which were the most dangerous for spreading a fire to the castle).<ref>Katô Takashi, "Governing Edo," in James McClain (ed.), ''Edo & Paris'', Cornell University Press (1994), 63.</ref> |