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The is a historical museum located at 1-4-1 Yokoami, Sumida-Ku,
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
in the Ryogoku district. The museum opened in March 1993 to preserve Edo's cultural heritage, and features city models of Edo and
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
between 1590 (just prior to the
Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
beginning) and 1964. It was the first museum built dedicated to the history of Tokyo. Some main features of the permanent exhibitions are the life-size replica of the
Nihonbashi is a business district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan which grew up around the bridge of the same name which has linked two sides of the Nihonbashi River at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603. The current ...
, which was the bridge leading into Edo; scale models of towns and buildings across the Edo Meiji, and Showa periods; and the Nakamuraza theatre. Designed by
Kiyonori Kikutake (April 1, 1928 – December 26, 2011) was a prominent Japanese architect known as one of the founders of the Japanese Metabolist group. He was also the tutor and employer of several important Japanese architects, such as Toyo Ito, Shōzō Uc ...
, the building is 62.2 meters tall and covers 30,000 square meters. The concrete exterior is designed based on a traditional rice storehouse (takayuka-shiki style) and is the same height as the
Edo Castle is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo and is therefore also known as . Tokugawa Ieyasu established the ...
. Kikutake claimed that the building "crystallizes Japanese culture in built form," concerning the structure's traditional references but contemporary execution. There are eight floors, one below ground and seven elevated off the ground by four columns, with an open air plaza at ground level. The first floor has a museum shop, restaurants, and a ticket counter. The primary entrance is on the third floor, reached by a bright red escalator from the plaza. The fifth and sixth floors contain permanent exhibits, with temporary special and feature exhibits on the first and fifth floors. The seventh floor is a library that houses 560,000 texts and cultural items related to Edo and Tokyo. The museum opened thirteen years after the
Shitamachi Museum The is a museum in Ueno, Taito, Tokyo, Japan. Located on the shores of Shinobazu Pond within Ueno Park, it is dedicated to the traditional culture of Tokyo's Shitamachi. The museum opened in 1980, six years before the Fukagawa Edo Museum an ...
and six years after the Fukagawa Edo Museum, all part of a national trend for building local history museums. The exhibits for all three were primarily designed by Total Media. Formerly owned and operated by the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government The is the government of the Tokyo Metropolis. One of the 56 prefectures of Japan, the government consists of a popularly elected governor and assembly. The headquarters building is located in the ward of Shinjuku. The metropolitan government ...
, the Edo-Tokyo Museum is accented by the
Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum The in Koganei Park, Tokyo, Japan, is a museum of historic Japanese buildings. The park includes many buildings from the ordinary middle class Japanese experience to the homes of wealthy and powerful individuals such as former Prime Minister ...
across the city in
Koganei Park is a metropolitan park in Tokyo, having entrances in Koganei City, Kodaira City, Nishitokyo City, and Musashino, Tokyo, Musashino City. Overview The fifth-largest park in the Metropolitan Tokyo Area, Koganei Park is an attraction for local reside ...
. The Edo-Tokyo Museum is now operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture. The museum was closed for renovation in April 2022 and is expected to be reopened by the end of 2025.


Design and Architecture

Kikutake was selected as the architect through a closed competition conducted by the Tokyo city hall. Kikutake designed the Metabolist structure with the goal of projecting Japan as a nation and culture, with Tokyo specifically as a world city. The organization that directed the museum, Total Media, led by Ogi Shinzo, wanted to use the museum to define Japan through the everyday life of ''shomin'' (庶民), or average citizens. Emporis classifies the $300 million structure as a high-rise building. The concept of an Edo-Tokyo Museum was imagined in the early 1980s by Tokyo governor Suzuki Shun'ichi as part of the Expo' 70 tenth anniversary campaign "My Town Tokyo." Nine companies were involved with the museum's construction, organized by
Kajima Corporation is one of the oldest and largest construction companies in Japan. Founded in 1840, the company has its headquarters in Motoakasaka, Minato, Tokyo. The company is known for its DIB-200 proposal. The company stock is traded on four leading Jap ...
. The site location was chosen mainly because the
Ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surfac ...
painter
Katsushika Hokusai , known simply as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. He is best known for the woodblock print series '' Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'', which includes the iconic print ''The Great W ...
was born in the Sumida ward, and Edo culture was born and flourished in Ryogoku. Kyoto roofs reflecting sunlight inspired the whitish silver color of the outside. Likewise, the roof-like shape that defines the building derives from the distinctive roofs of old Japanese temples. The roofs of these monuments, Kikutake says, differentiate them from other structures while simultaneously cohering with the landscape. The four legs were erected first, followed by the cantilevers. The first elevated floor is supported on the legs' 19.7' deep bottom chords, while a second set of chords supports the other floors. Each of the four composite steel with reinforced concrete legs is a 46' deep "H" shape."History on high in Tokyo". ''Engineering News-Record.'' May 3, 1993. From the plaza to the first raised floor, they are 63' tall. The building is cantilevered 119' over the legs on the North and South sides. Fluorine resin-coated square panels cover the building. To protect the artifacts from vibrations and earthquakes, 126 springs are positioned throughout the overhang capable of absorbing 3.5 inches of vertical movement. During the March 11th, 2011 Tohoku earthquake, however, the seventh floor Edo-Tokyo Museum Library reported that shelves became unstable and books fell.


Reception

While most of the museum's initial reception focused on the exhibits, the building itself garnered general praise in its role in housing the exhibits. William Steele notes that "the building itself is playful," comparing it to a creature from space. Carol Lutfy observes that "the museum embraces the odd blend of history and high-tech that has come to characterize modern-day Tokyo." She argues that the structure serves as a conduit between tradition and contemporary, just as the museum itself does. The museum website claims that the building has architecturally defined the area and attracted tourists due to its unique form. The unique form of the building, however, has been a source of criticism as well. As the dominant structure in the Ryogoku district, the Edo-Tokyo Museum dwarfs and arguably does not blend with the stylings of the area. Of the nearby structures, only the Ryogoku Kokugikan has similar dimensions, but it is not nearly as visible. Steele argues that while the interior is well suited for the exhibits, the artificial divide it creates between Edo and Tokyo is problematic. The permanent exhibit floor ignores the continuity between Edo and Tokyo periods, Steele claims, because the floor plan divides the rooms into two divergent spaces. Barrie Shelton argues that the building is distinctly Japanese in its monumentality and "visually self-contained", focusing more attention on the plaza below and its connection to the building, than the building itself.


See also

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References


External links

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Japan-guide.com
{{Authority control + Museums in Tokyo History museums in Japan Buildings and structures in Sumida, Tokyo Museums established in 1993 1993 establishments in Japan Ukiyo-e Museum