CHAPTER 9 通読用英文
Edo, the Resilient City
1
There is an English saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” We cannot experience the past directly, but we can learn a lot from pictures. Take a look at Picture 1.
It shows the Nihonbashi Bridge area of Edo crowded with people around the year 1800. Looking at it, you may feel as if you were actually there in what was called “Great Edo.” Edo became one of the world’s largest cities when its population surpassed one million in the early 18th century. A hundred years earlier, at the beginning of the Edo Period, only 150,000 people lived in the city. What made Edo grow so rapidly in just one century?
A large number of fires struck Edo. And ironically, this was one of the major causes of the “population explosion.” To explain this, let’s look at Picture 2 — a picture of the “Great Fire of Meireki” of March 1657.
It was the biggest and worst fire of all. It kept burning for three days and reduced 70 percent of Edo to ashes. Many people burned to death or drowned in rivers they had jumped into in order to escape the flames. Others were crushed to death under collapsing houses and still others froze to death outside. The number of deaths reached somewhere around 60,000.
2
After the fire, the Tokugawa shogunate set out to reconstruct the city. They worked out a plan that would make Edo more fire-resistant. It called for the expansion of roads, the building of small parks to serve as shelters, and the creation of large empty spaces to prevent fires from spreading.
As you can imagine, these big public projects required an enormous labor force. A lot of people from all over Japan moved to Edo seeking jobs, which partly explains the sharp increase in its population. These new workers contributed to the rebuilding of the damaged city. Look at Picture 3.
One of the major projects was the construction of a new bridge, which was called Ryogokubashi, over the Sumida River. The bridge was necessary because many people had drowned during the fire, trying to reach the opposite bank. It was also built to develop the areas on the other side of the river. The new bridge helped business flourish on both sides of the river. As we can see in Picture 4, it later became a popular viewing spot for fireworks, as it still is today.
3
The citizens of Edo also made an effort, in the “spirit of self-help,” to keep themselves safe from fires. For example, merchants in the Nihonbashi area organized fire-fighting teams to protect the shops as well as the residents there. In the early 18th century, those teams developed into machibikeshi, or city firefighters, as depicted in Picture 5. Thus, voluntary fire-fighting teams were born.
The members of the machibikeshi, who risked their lives fighting fires, became popular heroes. Both children and adults were fascinated by their brave acts. As seen in Picture 6, their stories even provided material for kabuki plays and woodblock prints (ukiyoe).
In the late Edo period, when fires occurred, copies of handwritten newspapers were sold on the street. They reported what the fire was like, where victims were housed, and where soup kitchens were located. Through these newspapers, people could get information about their relatives and friends, and could rush to help them when needed.
4
Edo citizens, called Edokko, took pride in being generous. As is often said, “Edokko spend all the day’s earnings before midnight.” They spent money generously, not only on themselves but also on others in need. To them, money was something that came and went. Besides, money meant little once a fire broke out. What mattered most was human lives, not money.
Edo citizens were generous not only with money, but also with mutual assistance. The Edokko knew that disasters could occur at any time. As a result of having experienced a number of fires, they became stronger and more resilient because they believed in the spirit of self-help and mutual assistance. In fact, if it had not been for their resilience, the reconstruction of Edo would not have been possible.
Japan is a country where disasters frequently occur. As long as we live in this country, we have to accept that fact. There is a lot we can learn from the people of Edo, who, in the days when technology was very limited, succeeded time after time in reviving the fire-stricken city.
1
There is an English saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” We cannot experience the past directly, but we can learn a lot from pictures. Take a look at Picture 1.
It shows the Nihonbashi Bridge area of Edo crowded with people around the year 1800. Looking at it, you may feel as if you were actually there in what was called “Great Edo.” Edo became one of the world’s largest cities when its population surpassed one million in the early 18th century. A hundred years earlier, at the beginning of the Edo Period, only 150,000 people lived in the city. What made Edo grow so rapidly in just one century?
A large number of fires struck Edo. And ironically, this was one of the major causes of the “population explosion.” To explain this, let’s look at Picture 2 — a picture of the “Great Fire of Meireki” of March 1657.
It was the biggest and worst fire of all. It kept burning for three days and reduced 70 percent of Edo to ashes. Many people burned to death or drowned in rivers they had jumped into in order to escape the flames. Others were crushed to death under collapsing houses and still others froze to death outside. The number of deaths reached somewhere around 60,000.
2
After the fire, the Tokugawa shogunate set out to reconstruct the city. They worked out a plan that would make Edo more fire-resistant. It called for the expansion of roads, the building of small parks to serve as shelters, and the creation of large empty spaces to prevent fires from spreading.
As you can imagine, these big public projects required an enormous labor force. A lot of people from all over Japan moved to Edo seeking jobs, which partly explains the sharp increase in its population. These new workers contributed to the rebuilding of the damaged city. Look at Picture 3.
One of the major projects was the construction of a new bridge, which was called Ryogokubashi, over the Sumida River. The bridge was necessary because many people had drowned during the fire, trying to reach the opposite bank. It was also built to develop the areas on the other side of the river. The new bridge helped business flourish on both sides of the river. As we can see in Picture 4, it later became a popular viewing spot for fireworks, as it still is today.
3
The citizens of Edo also made an effort, in the “spirit of self-help,” to keep themselves safe from fires. For example, merchants in the Nihonbashi area organized fire-fighting teams to protect the shops as well as the residents there. In the early 18th century, those teams developed into machibikeshi, or city firefighters, as depicted in Picture 5. Thus, voluntary fire-fighting teams were born.
The members of the machibikeshi, who risked their lives fighting fires, became popular heroes. Both children and adults were fascinated by their brave acts. As seen in Picture 6, their stories even provided material for kabuki plays and woodblock prints (ukiyoe).
In the late Edo period, when fires occurred, copies of handwritten newspapers were sold on the street. They reported what the fire was like, where victims were housed, and where soup kitchens were located. Through these newspapers, people could get information about their relatives and friends, and could rush to help them when needed.
4
Edo citizens, called Edokko, took pride in being generous. As is often said, “Edokko spend all the day’s earnings before midnight.” They spent money generously, not only on themselves but also on others in need. To them, money was something that came and went. Besides, money meant little once a fire broke out. What mattered most was human lives, not money.
Edo citizens were generous not only with money, but also with mutual assistance. The Edokko knew that disasters could occur at any time. As a result of having experienced a number of fires, they became stronger and more resilient because they believed in the spirit of self-help and mutual assistance. In fact, if it had not been for their resilience, the reconstruction of Edo would not have been possible.
Japan is a country where disasters frequently occur. As long as we live in this country, we have to accept that fact. There is a lot we can learn from the people of Edo, who, in the days when technology was very limited, succeeded time after time in reviving the fire-stricken city.
再生速度
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