The Arakawa River
Rivers, dead prostitutes, executions, class discrimination, drainage ditches, and naming conventions. This article’s got it all! Continue reading The Arakawa River
Tag: iwabuchi
What does Akabane mean?
赤羽Akabane (Red Wings; but more at Red Clay) Today’s place name etymology is a pretty interesting one because we will get a sneak peak at the extinct pre-Edo Period dialect of the area. Akabane sits in the northern part of Kita Ward. It’s basically next to Kawakuchi, Saitama. So it’s on the literal outskirts of Tōkyō. Mind you, you won’t see any difference leaving Tōkyō and entering Saitama due to the thorough urban sprawl. Historically speaking, 赤羽村 Akabane Mura Akabane Village wasn’t a particularly important place, but in the Kamakura Period a highway called 岩槻街道 Iwatsuki Kaidō was built. The … Continue reading What does Akabane mean?
Why is Kita called Kita?
Yesterday we talked about the Toshima clan and the Toshima district that later became the North Toshima District.
Today we’ll find out what happened to that “North” years later in the last administrative reshuffling of Tokyo’s wards. Continue reading Why is Kita called Kita?
