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Episode 564 – You Gotta Fight for Your Right to Party, Part 3
This week: outside of big urban riots, how did violence figure into the daily life of the Edo period? To answer this question, we’ll take a look at one particularly well-documented example: youth gangs in the area surrounding Sensoji in the shogun’s capital of Edo.
Sources
Takeuchi, Makoto, “Festivals and Fights: The Law and the People of Edo” and Anne Walthall, “Edo Riots” in Edo and Paris: Urban Life and the State in the Early Modern Era. Eds. James L. McClain, John M. Merriman, and Ugawa Kaoru.
Images
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9745" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/about_img14-300x145.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="145" srcset="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/about_img14-300x145.jpg 300w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/about_img14.jpg 700w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Depiction of Sensoji during the Edo period. The Kaminarimon and the main market area (now Nakamisedori) are to the right.
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9746" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sanjya_2-300x218.gif" alt="" width="300" height="218" />Depiction of the Sanja Matsuri of 1838. You can see the mikoshi being boated around on the Sumida river.
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9747" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sanja97m-300x167.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="167" srcset="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sanja97m-300x167.jpg 300w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sanja97m-768x427.jpg 768w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sanja97m-360x200.jpg 360w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sanja97m.jpg 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Artist’s rendering of the 1820 Sanja Matsuri.
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9748" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/caption-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/caption-300x225.jpg 300w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/caption.jpg 550w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Nishinomiya Inari Shrine. Big parts of the shrine were built with “donations” that were “solicited” by youth gangs.
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This week: outside of big urban riots, how did violence figure into the daily life of the Edo period? To answer this question, we’ll take a look at one particularly well-documented example: youth gangs in the area surrounding Sensoji in the shogun’s capital of Edo.
Sources
Takeuchi, Makoto, “Festivals and Fights: The Law and the People of Edo” and Anne Walthall, “Edo Riots” in Edo and Paris: Urban Life and the State in the Early Modern Era. Eds. James L. McClain, John M. Merriman, and Ugawa Kaoru.
Images
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9745" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/about_img14-300x145.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="145" srcset="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/about_img14-300x145.jpg 300w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/about_img14.jpg 700w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Depiction of Sensoji during the Edo period. The Kaminarimon and the main market area (now Nakamisedori) are to the right.
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9746" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sanjya_2-300x218.gif" alt="" width="300" height="218" />Depiction of the Sanja Matsuri of 1838. You can see the mikoshi being boated around on the Sumida river.
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9747" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sanja97m-300x167.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="167" srcset="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sanja97m-300x167.jpg 300w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sanja97m-768x427.jpg 768w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sanja97m-360x200.jpg 360w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sanja97m.jpg 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Artist’s rendering of the 1820 Sanja Matsuri.
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9748" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/caption-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/caption-300x225.jpg 300w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/caption.jpg 550w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Nishinomiya Inari Shrine. Big parts of the shrine were built with “donations” that were “solicited” by youth gangs.