Edo Shigusa as the Sensibility of Edo Culture

By Koshikawa Reiko


One would be entirely justified in saying that "Edo shigusa," the collective name for the particular manners and customs of the city of Edo, expresses the sensibility of a specific time and place that could pass for a global standard today.  By Edo, we mean the actual leaders of the city, those who were comparable to the members of the Nippon Keidanren (Japan Federation of Economic Organizations) today.

Edo shigusa consists of the principles, philosophy and secrets (the knacks, manners and coordination) necessary for the daily life of the leaders among the residents of the castle town of Edo.  It is composed of the concrete know-how, the essential skills one needed to do business and live day by day in the huge city.

A true resident of Edo was called an Edokko, and there were four specific qualifications for that title.

(1) You should consider the person before you as an incarnation of the Buddha.  (2) You should not be a "time thief," one who takes up another's time without asking permission.  (3) Irrespective of their status, upon meeting someone you should treat them as equals, asking neither their age, occupation nor position.  (4) You should possess a sense of playfulness as well as a sense of competitiveness in resourcefulness and physical and mental skills.

In its concrete forms, Edo shigusa consists of a wide variety of expressions of thoughtfulness and consideration of others through the eyes, facial expression, verbal expression and behavior.  One could call it the concept of "thought and action are one" as expressed by the Neo-Confucianism of Wang Yangming.


Perceptiveness of Tokugawa Ieyasu


To have looked upon an isolated fishing village located on a bay surrounded by sources of food supplies and recognized it as having the potential to become a capital city is surely evidence of the superior powers of perception possessed by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616), who founded the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603.  In less than a century, the village of Edo was transformed into one of the world's major cities.  During what came to be known as the Edo Period (1603-1867), the city experienced an unprecedented 265 years of peace and prosperity.  In the area that arose around Edo castle, 80% of the residents were involved in business at one level or another, from wealthy merchants to street vendors who hawked their goods from a shouldering pole.  It was truly a city of merchants.

Because of this mercantile background, Edo shigusa were also called shonin shigusa (merchant manners) and hanjo shigusa (prosperity manners).

Ieyasu had been repeatedly taken hostage since his childhood and had endured tremendous hardships during the Civil war and he left as his last words, "Whatever may happen, do not go to war."  I believe that the samurai class that followed this injunction and the common people who acted in concert with that wish made a tremendous contribution.  Edo shigusa is a collection of customs, manners and etiquette that will not allow one to confront another, but will rather diminish any desire at all to do battle.


GHQ Permitted the Transmission of Edo Shigusa


Following World War II, Shiba Mitsuakira, who was my teacher of Edo shigusa, worked briefly for the General Headquarters (GHQ), and he was told about the value of Edo culture by American commissioned officers, who at one time had been Japan's enemies.  As a result, he awoke to the pride of having been born in a household with Edo affinities.  Because Edo shigusa were not feudalistic but quite democratic and a symbol of peace and prosperity, he sought GHQ's permission with great trepidation to hand down the tradition to the next generation.

He explained in various ways what Edo shigusa means.  He decided to demonstrate the most comprehensible examples of katahiki (shoulder turning), kasa-kashige (tilting umbrellas) and kobushi koshi ukashi (moving over).  "Good!" was the immediate reaction to his performance of the three examples.  A female officer gave him permission to pass on the traditions on the spot.  The elders, who had shuddered at the awesome powers of GHQ and urged him to desist from making such a bold request, were absolutely stunned.

It was said that later on some New Yorkers upon returning home fooled around on Fifth Avenue imitating these manners and passersby mimicked the gestures half in jest.  Since that time, however, these three simple acts have become emblematic of Edo shigusa.

Kasa-kashige is practiced on a rainy or snowy day when the narrow streets are filled with people coming and going.  When two people coming from opposite directions pass one another, they both tilt their umbrellas outward so that raindrops will not drip on the other person.

Also when encountering another person on a narrow street, two strangers were supposed to pull back the right shoulder, katahiki, to allow the two a smooth passage when coming chest to chest.  Or, they could perform kaniaruki, walking sideways like two crabs, when encountering one another.  On a ferryboat, a passenger who had previously boarded would, on his/her own initiative, move over on the seat the width of a clenched fist, kobushi koshi ukase, in order to make room for a newly boarding passenger to sit down.  These customs of orai shigusa (the manner of passing on streets), the children of Edo merchants had basically mastered by the age of three to nine.  They are also referred to as chigo shigusa (child manners,) and ohajime shigusa (beginner manners.)

These particular manners did not require strict training, but were learned with little effort by simply watching the behavior of parents and other adults.

Without being told, they learned the mebiki hanabiki gaten no shigusa, or the ah-un form of cooperation.  The "ah" part is the sound of exhaling breath, and the "un" part is the sound of inhaling.  When two people are fully cooperating they even inhale and exhale in tandem.  Any person who could not manage to respond in such a way was considered to be a person straight from the countryside, and such a person was so conspicuous in Edo that he would even be victimized by pickpockets.


The Meaning of "Work" in Edo


The morning's "work" was to be done before breakfast.  This particular "work" was the maintaining of friendly relationships with the proverbial "three neighbors across the street and two neighbors on either side of one's house."  In this transitory world, this was an irreplaceable social obligation, and it was, of course, done without remuneration.

After breakfast, one's "employment" work began.  This is the "labor" part of the day, work for which one receives some compensation or payment.  After all, one had to earn money to support oneself and one's family.  Then after lunch, one devoted oneself to making life easier for others.  Performing services for others, for the community or for Edo as a whole is what this voluntary "work" involved.  Needless to say, one received no pay for this.  After finishing this "work," one used the time for recreation and refreshment until the evening in preparation for the following day.  This last part of the day was called asubi, literally, "preparation for the next day."

Of these forms of work, the most valued one was that done in the afternoon for the benefit of others.  It may be from this that the expression came which says "Edokko work only three hours a day."  The standard by which the Edokko was judged was not how earnestly he or she worked for himself, but how well he worked for the benefit of others.

There are many ways in which the thinking and behavior of "Edo shigusa" could be employed in the 21st century.

Because all human beings are equal before the Buddha, went the thinking of the Edo resident, there should be no superior or inferior in exchanging words.  Those who adopt the spirit of such equality naturally express that spirit in concrete behavior and communication.

Hence, Edo shigusa embodies the wisdom of Edo culture, and it can serve as a prescription of preventive medicine for the elimination of confrontation and bullying.


Koshikawa Reiko is the president of the Association of Edo shigusa narrators.