From Edo to Tokyo: the Meiji Restoration of Little People

In Edo, which was hit by the Meiji Restoration, the daimyo returned to their own territories one after another, causing the population to drop by half, and the metropolis with a population of one million instantly declined. Wandering warriors without owners frequently caused chaos, and land and identities began to flow. People were panicked and complained. In Tokyo, where the order of Edo is gradually disintegrating, people are desperately trying to keep up with the changes of the times and struggling to survive. This book is the history of the Meiji Restoration of these little people whose names have not been left in history. As an authority on the social history of modern Japan, Yuriko Yokoyama traces the lives of common people in the tumultuous era, discusses the impact of the Meiji Restoration on Tokyo residents, pays special attention to groups such as wandering girls, wandering samurai, traders, untouchables, etc., Excavates the diaries of the lower class people, and empathetically interprets the survival wisdom of these ordinary people in the context of the great era.