ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the idea of the sanctuary as a way in which people look for anchorage, and create and re-create images of a society, to cope with and negotiate life in the city. It follows a line of thought introduced by Michel Foucault in his late work on the concept of problematization. The chapter discusses a platform for a place historical study of Edo during the Tokugawa era with specific focus on the market place, sites for performing arts and the sacred sanctuary. It approaches early modern Japan from a position that emphasizes an experience of estrangement as well as of familiarity with early modern Europe. The East Asian World City of Tokyo offers a unique intellectual laboratory for the study of cosmopolitan virtues as emergent realities.
