Tokyo Edo Museum where retelling old stories

Located about a 3-minute walk from the West Gate of Ryogoku Station on the JR Sobu Line, the Edo Tokyo Museum impresses us at first sight because of its unique architecture that simulates a large stilt house. The museum’s exhibition area is located on the 5th and 6th floors with a total area of ​​up to 9000 m2 inside displaying more than 2000 documents – artifacts associated with the culture, history and life of the people of Edo since the bakufu Tokugawa took control of the country and moved the headquarters here in 1603.

“Edo Area” – A spectacular historical wade

To start the “space-free” trip to ancient Edo, the first landmark we had to cross was the Nihonbashi Bridge, which was modeled after a wooden bridge across the Nihonbashi River. Soon after, what caught our eye was the bustling atmosphere of the bridge area and the 1630s were impressively recreated with a three-dimensional model.

There are also two unique models, the Edo castle area model and the Ryogoku bridge area model, which are both highly rated as works of art. I felt like I was shrinking and lost in the middle of the old Edo streets when each of the characters gliding in front of us all had a great face and status reflecting the untold stories of their lives.

The Edo Museum Tokyo vividly depicts the Edo period

Not only that, the lifestyle of Edo people can be stepped out into the real world through adjacent residential blocks, classes for urban children, Nishiki-e brocade printing shops or even the delivery scene. … restored to full size. The layout of furniture is also very cleverly calculated, such as the kitchen in a man’s house compared to other houses that are very tidy because almost … nothing!

The town of Edo is also a thriving place for street food. People prefer to do business in the form of “mobile fire stoves” instead of the tall and busy shops, so the street vendors are quite diverse display here. One of the most interesting stalls is probably Edomaezushi, which is said to be the first version of Sushi. If you look closely you will notice that the rice is a bit red because the rice is mixed with a red vinegar made from sake residue instead of rice vinegar today.

There are also interesting corners about visitors experiencing the ancient Edo culture. It felt special when we sat in the luxurious palanquin of a princess of the lord family, tried to lift the Matoi – a special item of the Edo firefighter or carrying a bucket of dung (a form of “taking advantage of talent) raw ”very common during this period) weighing up to 26kg.

Edo Area – Tokyo Edo Museum

“Tokyo area” and civilization work

In “Tokyo Area” one can see a big difference from the previous area is the appearance of photographic materials. Through the presentation of materials – artifacts on infrastructure, houses, appliances, toys … over time, it is easy to recognize the “Edo quality” gradually fading inversely. with “modern Tokyo quality”. These items were so popular that if they were Japanese, surely everyone had seen them once in their life. As I walked over here, many times I caught a glimpse of middle-aged Japanese guests exclaiming “So nostalgic!” or “I used to have this item in the past”.

Even more surprising when “Kawaii culture” or fashion trend among girls in Tokyo in the 90s was also recorded. It is said that before the renovation in 2015, this area only lasted to the corner of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics exhibition. And maybe after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics ended, what used to make modern Tokyo of the beginning The 21st century we are witnessing will also be put into the museum as part of its future history.

Tokyo Edo Museum where retelling old stories