TOKYO
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Between the castle and the outer walls a large area was formerly occupied by the numerous palaces of the Daimios, but few of these feudal erections now remain to illustrate what old Yedo was like in the time of the Shogunate.
The most important part of the business quarter is on the east of the castle, and is traversed by a main street running from the north to the south-west under different
names.
A section well worth a visit is the public park or garden named Uyeno, where formerly stood the magnificent temple founded and maintained by the Shoguns, and which was destroyed by fire during the War of Restoration in July, 1868. In thees grounds the Industrial Exhibition of 1877 was held, when the gardens were converted into a public pleasure resort by the Government. Several exhibitions have since been held here and have proved very successful. In Uyeno is also situated the fine Imperial Museum (Haku-butsu-kwan).
Among the places much resorted to by visitors is the ancient temple of Kwannon, at Asakusa, not far from Uyeno, one of the most popular and most frequented temples in Japan. At the right of the temple there is a fine old Pagoda, and near it are two colossal stone statues. A new park was also opened close to the temple about the same time as that of Uyeno. Thus, with Shiba, in the southwest, where are to be seen some of the splendid shrines of the Shoguns, among the chief glories of Tokyo, there are three large public gardens within the city.
The districts of Honjo and Fukagawa form a distinct industrial portion of the capital. Here is the centre of the lumber and other trades. This quarter is connected with the rest of the city by six great bridges, some of which are constructed of iron and some of wood. They are called, commencing on the north, Adzuma-Bashi, Umaya-Bashi, Ryogoku-Bashi, O-Hashi, Shin-O-Hashi and Eitai-Bashi, respectively. From these the traveller may obtain a fine view of the animated river-life of the Sumida, whose waters are always covered with junks and boats of all descriptions.
A great part of the remaining area forming the district north of the castle, a few years ago covered by paddy fields, is to-day covered by "suburbs" of great extent, well served by the municipal tramway system. There are also extensive pleasure gardens, such as Asuka-yama, and neat little villages. The part west of the palace contains 50 temples, and a number of nobles' palaces. The district on the south of the palace, with an area of about 17 square miles, contains about 60 temples. The most remarkable among them is Fudo-sama in Meguro.
Several great fires have swept Tokyo during the last two decades, and these have led to great improvements and widening of the streets. The last of these broke out on September 1st, 1923, following upon a very severe earthquake. The casualties due to this terrible visitation were as follows, according to a return issued in November by the Home Office :-Dead 68,215; missing (believed to be dead), 39,304; injured, 42,135. The number of houses destroyed is said to have been 316,000, or 71 per cent. of the whole of the buildings of the city; and no fewer than 1,360,000 people were rendered
homeless,
Tramways have been extended in all directions; a ten-minute service is mainatin- ed with Yokohama. The main streets and those adjacent to them are lighted by electricity, and the remainder by gas. Lines of telegraphs, amounting in all to 200 miles, connect the various parts of the city with one another, and with the country lines. The main streets are broad and fairly well kept.
The soldiers and police are dressed in uniform on the western model. Though numbers appear in European garb, the mass of the people still wear the native dress.
The environs of Tokyo are very picturesque and offer a great variety of pleasant walks or rides. Foreigners will find much to interest them in the country round. The finest scenery is at the northern and western sides of the city, where the country is surrounded by beautiful hills, from which there is a distant view of the noble mountains of Hakone, while beyond rises in solitary grandeur the towering peak of Fuji-san covered with snow the greater part of the year. The population of Tokyo as disclosed by the Census of 1925 was 1,995,303.
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The native Press is represented by some 20 daily papers, and many monthly and fortnightly publications. There is a daily paper run by Japanese in the English language called the Japan Times and Mail, which is representative of Japanese in- terests, and the Japan Advertiser, which was published for many years in Yokohama,
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