The 9th Research Meeting of History Project

Date: 07 July 2005 (Thursday) 18:30-21:00
Place: Meeting Room B, 25th Floor, Boissonade Tower, Ichigaya Campus, Hosei University

"Formation of the Medieval Water City of Bruges (Brugge):
in Relation to an Urban Network Theory for the Flanders Region"
Atsushi Kawahara
Assistant Professor, Department of History, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University
This presentation aims to clarify the formation of the waterfront city, Bruges, which is called Venice in northwest Europe, formulated based on the urban network in Flanders Region.
Bruges is referred to as a waterfront city because of the canals and waterways flowing in every direction within the city, as well as its formation process as a port city based on the canal network linking with the North Sea. Although Bruges is located at 15km inland from the coastline at present, the city faced the shore in ancient Roman period. The settlements had already existed at that time, functioning as an initial port city. However in the period during the mid-age to pre-modern era, when Bruges had become one of the international commercial cities, the geographical condition had changed separating the city from the North Sea. Therefore, the canal had been built in the city, utilizing the existing river, between the port of Zwin formed in the 12th century by the third transgression in Dunkirk, and the North Sea. The canal provided the basis for Bruges as a port city, although the city had not directly faced the ocean. In this process, the port of Damme had been built between the 12th and 13th centuries, and then the city of Sluis had been established as a stopping point in the latter half of the 13th century. Bruges had established its status as an international commercial city, utilizing these cities developing as openings toward the ocean. The commercial goods had been distributed from the port of Damme through these cities toward the north gate of Bruges.
Within the city, a canal network had been built in the period after the 13th century; taking the Reie river toward the river reservoir, then making the water flow through the waterway built toward the north of the city, and building another waterway by changing the direction of the existing river flow. The oldest city core, Burg was formulated between waterways built using north - south Reie river. The waterway had been located along the first city wall (built in 1089), proving that the canal had been built in the 11th century. The ship was navigating from the north gate to buildings and water warehouses along the canal in the city core, where goods were directly discharged. The facilities for importing and storing the circulating products within the city had been built at the end of the 13th century, which completed Bruges as the waterfront city. Bruges was functioning as a port city, while dominating the outer ports; at the same time, urban network was established including the canal toward Gent-Oostende, linking between the city and inland.
Based on the efforts of building waterways, Bruges had established its status as an international commercial city from the 13th century onwards. In the 16th century, the seaport of Zwin started silting up, closed to traffic by galleys, and Antwerp gradually took over the commercial position of Bruges. However, the status and function of Bruges as a waterfront city had been retained even in the 17th century, because of a new canal linking to Oostende, where trading with western world through West-Indische Compagnie had been developed. A new canal network was established in the 20th century. The petrochemical industry was developed and a port was built in Zeebrugge, which had been a fishing village located between Oostende and Sluis. The new canal is linking the port and Bruges. As we have seen, Bruges has been developed through the relationship between ocean and water, which has determined the characteristics of the city.

Squares of Edo and Commoners' World
Shinya Kobayashi
Adjunct Lecturer at Kawamuragakuen Woman's University, Tsuru University, and Nihon University
This presentation aims to clarify the importance within the urban society, of Tokomise Yoshizubari Eigyochi (Tokomise (:stall in front of a home) Marketplace sheltered with reed screens) developed in the quarters of Edo.
Firstly, I will explain the spatial structure of machikata, habitation area of commoners of Edo. A set of lots developed along the roads as axis, was referred to as a "cho" (town).About 1600 cho composed a Chonin-chi (an area of townsmen) of Edo. Each cho was composed of 20 to 30 strip-shaped lots called Machiyashiki. The spatial structure of Machiyashiki was as follows: larger lots were located along a street and the back of such lot across the narrow array was divided into several smaller lots. The block facing the street was called Omotemise and the back lot was called Uramise. "Mise" indicates a leasehold property.
In the next place, we will look at commoners in machikata. The commoners enjoyed business prosperity were living in uramise and did businesses in omotemise. However, commoners who were living in uramise, and could not be in trade in omotemise had to carry things about for sale; such people had reached about 290,000 out of 500,000 townsmen in Edo. The servants worked and lived in large shops or Daimyo (feudal lord)'s mansions were included in the remaining 200,000; therefore, rich people such as landowners and landlords who had shops in omotemise were rare. In short, most of commoners in Edo were living out on a day-to-day in uramise. It was impossible that the lives of such people who were living in uramise, completed within the town, because the lives of merchants and craftsmen were based on the trades outside of the town. Therefore, studying society and space of townsmen is important to understand commoners' world of Edo; and the squares of Edo can be seen as outer-town society.
Conventionally, researchers often see squares of Edo as extraordinary and unfettered bustling places contrasting a daily and closed town society. However, it is not appropriate to assume all squares represented mysterious and unusual societies. It is necessary to recognize the importance of squares as daily and sound living spaces where commoners held tokomise for trading. The assembly of each tokomise, though a small capital with scarce assortment of goods, formulated a market pulling in more customers. Tokomise yoshizubari Eigyochi took on characteristics of a market collectively formed by commoners who lived in uramise and could not set up stores in omotemise.
Through the Edo and Meiji periods, it had been often restricted to use squares which were non-private properties for private sales. However, the restriction had been removed on each occasion. For example, although tokomise had been demolished at the reform in Tempo Era, they would be revived granting entreaties; in the Meiji Era, the removed stalls in non-private properties had been finally moved and stayed in business in the vacant lots of previous Daimyo's mansions. In the period with street lamps, night stalls were opened. The black-market in postwar era, could be positioned as one of the commoners' markets as described above.
Tokomise yoshizubari Eigyochi in squares, had been generated mainly by urban commoners, while they lived their daily lives depending on the place. From this point of view, the space composed of tokomise was an important society and one of the fundamental constituent elements in urban commoners' world. As described before, squares of Edo have been commonly evaluated from the viewpoints of red-light district, or bustling place, which played the roles for extraordinary sides of society. However in this presentation, I clarified the meanings of squares as important and daily livelihood domain for commoners who occupied greater part of the city.