ABSTRACT
In 1603, a new shogunate was declared under the Tokugawa family. Some thirty years had elapsed since the previous one, that of the Ashikaga, had collapsed, as had nearly a century since their house had lost effective control. This chapter offers a hypothesis and an interpretation of Nihonbashi as a whole. It suggests a European input in the Tokugawa conceit. However, it is also important to stress that it was not a case of direct emulation: Edo looked nothing like a European city; rather, it was given a center that, though unprecedented and plausibly owing to European notional of rulers’ cities, was rooted in a concept stemming from East Asian norms. The shogunate collected its institutions of significance around this site, deepening its meaning. Not only were there the castle and the warehouses of its suppliers, but several additional buildings were incorporated into the ensemble of Nihonbashi.
