Page 108 - A History of the World in 25 Cities
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Life in
Tokyo has been devastated and risen from the ashes twice in the last 100 years. As a result, it’s now one of the most modern high-rise cities on the planet, gleaming with tall glass buildings by day and alight with bright colours at night.
Originally a small fishing village called Edo, by 1721 the city was home to over a million people and the biggest city in the world. In 1868, Emperor Meiji moved from the old capital of Japan, Kyōto, and changed the name of his new capital from Edo to Tokyo.
The city lay in ruins twice in the twentieth century: in 1923 Tokyo was destroyed by an earthquake, and in the Second World War it was heavily bombed. Yet by the 1960s, Tokyo was the first ever city to have more than 10 million people living in it.
Kawaii means ‘cute’ or ‘adorable’, but in Japan it’s a way of life. Everything can be kawaii, from doughnuts to backpacks. In Tokyo there are kawaii shops and cafés that offer unbounded cuteness, packed with brightly coloured images of baby animals, mythical creatures and teddy bears.
Size of the Greater Tokyo Area:
In NuMbers
Percentage of people in Japan who live in Tokyo:
