The Other Side of New Tokyo, Seen from the Streets

A year after the Great Kantō Earthquake, Tokyo is rebuilding—and a sharp-eyed visitor finds a city full of contradictions. Civic reform collides with political favoritism, new buildings crowd the streets, tram conductors become objects of gossip, and shopkeepers turn a simple purchase into a contest of nerves.

Moving from council chambers to bathhouses, bargain counters and marriage-advice offices, Sugiyama Hōen asks what has become of the old Edokko spirit. His account combines street encounters, overheard conversations, social commentary and barbed satire, offering an unsettling view of daily life amid reconstruction.

First serialized in 1924, this work is by the writer also known as Yumeno Kyūsaku. The complete supplied text appears here in English, including its songs, advertisements, reported conversations and authorial note. Brief annotations clarify historical references and unfamiliar terms while identifying missing source material and uncertain readings. The result preserves both the city’s restless energy and the prejudices through which its observer saw it.