|

Tree-lined Main Street
of Ginza Bricktown, circa 1880
|
Cherry trees,
prominent in the previous print, initially lined the street along with
maples, pines, and oaks, but they disappeared and the willow became the
symbol of the Ginza's main street. This photo contrasts sharply with the
idealized view of the Bricktown presented in woodblock prints of the time.
Most foreign visitors who came to Japan expecting to experience "Old Japan"
bemoaned this kind of pseudo-westernization of Edo/Tokyo even as Japanese
built such displays of "civilization and enlightenment" to impress an
international audience with Japan's modernization. |