ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the problem of sanitation in the major metropolises of Japan from approximately 1590 to 1890 and will include an assessment of the sanitation standards in light of Western standards for the same centuries. It examines how the premodern Japanese provided a water supply system for urban residents and developed systems to rid the cities of waste, ranging from garbage and rubbish to water and human excreta, or night soil. The chapter looks at Japanese customs that had an effect on levels of sanitation and disposal of night soil and compares urban conditions in Japan with those in the West. It provides a brief summary of the growth and changes in the city population in the Tokugawa period (1600-1868). The chapter describes Edo's water supply system and brief comparison with how other Japanese cities were supplied. It shows how the cities handled the crucial problems of waste disposal.
