What does Hamamatsu-cho mean?

浜松町 Hamamatsu-chō (seaside pine town, more at Hamamatsu town) . There’s not a lot to go on with this place name. A lot of it adds up, but a lot of it doesn’t. As such, we’ll probably have to do a little more filling in the gaps than I like to do. But anyways, let’s see where this takes us. . On the record, here’s what we’ve got. . At the beginning of the Edo Period, the 増上寺代官 Zōjō-ji daikan magistrate of Zōjō-ji[i] 奥住久右衛門 Ozumi Kyūemon[ii] lived here. Because of that, the area was called affectionately called 久右衛門町 Kyūemon-chō Kyūemon Town. However, … Continue reading What does Hamamatsu-cho mean?

Why is Daikanyama called Daikanyama?

代官山 Daikanyama (Daikan Mountain) First a quick definition. A 代官 daikan was a kind of local magistrate or governor in the Edo Period. There are 2 theories as to why this area is called Daikan Mountain: 1) A daikan‘s residence was located here at some time. 2) The forest mountain here fell under the direct supervision of a daikan. There is insufficient documentation remaining to support one theory over the other. Continue reading Why is Daikanyama called Daikanyama?