32 AMAM.OBERLIN.EDU URBAN LIVING: WATER AND SEWAGE Edo’s location on a plain near a large bay was ideal due to the large rivers that emptied into the sea there. As the population of the city grew, however, it became clear that more water was needed. Well water so near the bay was too salty, so the government built a large, sophisticated infrastructure to distribute water from the rivers and ponds throughout the city. Four major aqueducts were constructed to move water, first down canals, then into stone pipes, and finally into underground wooden pipes. These delivered water to local “wells” that were essentially a series of settling tanks that helped to remove sediment. All sections were easily accessible for periodic cleaning, andmost water was boiled for tea or cooking, making fresh water safer andmore available than in any European city of the same era. Edo period cities generally were cleaner than those elsewhere due to the lack of draft or food animals noted earlier. The major source of fertilizer was human manure, which was highly valued and carefully collected. Farmers negotiated with urban landlords for exclusive rights to carry offmanure, originally in trade for produce but later for cash. This meant that gutters in Japanese cities carried only runoff from rain or water from household cooking, cleaning, and bathing. These gutters were checked and cleared frequently to control any overflow. Left: UtagawaHiroshige I 初代目歌川広重 (Japanese, 1797–1858) TheKōyaRiver inKii Province, fromthe series The Six Jewel Rivers, early 1830s Color woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper MaryA. AinsworthBequest, 1950.1132 This print represents a source of much of the fresh water in Japan, one of the streams that bring snowmelt down from the mountains. In it we see a boy dressed as a temple page carrying a water bucket and looking at the waterfall. The image illustrates the poem above, widely known from the imperial poetry anthology Fūga wakashū 風雅和歌集 (ca. 1344–1346). Written by the famous monk and poet Kōbō Daishi 弘法大師, or Kūkai 空海 (774–835), the poem references the water’s sacred character. Forgetting the taboo against drinking it, travelers have ladled water from the Tama River in the recesses of Mount Kōya. —Translation by John T. Carpenter, Masterful Illusions: Japanese Prints in the Anne Van Biema Collection (2002)
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