
What does Hachiōji mean?
Hachiōji is a suburb in West Tōkyō and home to a haunted mountain. Continue reading What does Hachiōji mean?
Hachiōji is a suburb in West Tōkyō and home to a haunted mountain. Continue reading What does Hachiōji mean?
There are a cluster of places names related to horses in Setagaya and I want to get to the bottom of it! Continue reading Setagaya and its Freaky Horse Fetish
The story of the Kanda River is a story as old as Edo itself. It is part and parcel of the evolution of the city. Continue reading The Kanda River
牛込 Ushigome (Crowd of Cows) 。 。 牛 ushi cow 込 komi[i] swarming, huddling, amassed, crowded, “in bulk” 。 According to Japanese Wikipedia[ii], in 701, in accordance to the Taihō Code, a livestock ranch was established in this area. In fact, two were established which were sometimes referred to as 牛牧 gyūmaki a cow ranch and 馬牧 umamaki a horse ranch. These two locations came to be referred to as 牛込 Ushigome and 駒込 Komagome. The fact that there was a cattle/dairy ranch here in the Asuka Period is a known fact (it’s documented). The horse ranch is a different … Continue reading What does Ushigome mean?
Went a little long on this on… sorry about that. But I love Tokyo. I wanted to explore the forgotten side… Continue reading What does Edo mean?