Shinjuku in the early 1920s. A railway and population explosion turned it into a thriving modern city. Jūnisō, no longer rural and remote, now became a geisha district, delighting some, enraging others.
An extremely rare photo of Jūnisō Pond in 1905 (Meiji 38). Teahouses and restaurants already crowd the pond’s banks and its natural beauty is no longer the main attraction.
A painting of Jūnisō Pond as it looked during the 1890s, the period when modernization first reached the area. This article introduces revealing first-hand accounts of these, seemingly innocent, early changes.
This print is the first known foreign depiction of Jūnisō. Thanks to foreigners, visiting after Japan opened its borders in 1859, we have detailed accounts of Jūnisō describing aspects that locals took for granted.
Cherry blossom along the Tamagawa Jōsui at Koganei. The 43 kilometer aqueduct supplied much of Tokyo’s drinking water and played a major role in turning Jūnisō into a place of natural beauty.
Sheltering trees, romantic open teahouses—the idyllic Jūnisō Pond was for centuries a celebrated city escape.