LAUSR

This essay introduces contributions by six scholars of modern Japanese history writing about Japanese cities. The essays cover key issues in the history of Tokyo from the late-nineteenth century to the years immediately after World War II. Despite Tokyo’s status as a world city, historical literature in English on the city is still limited. This special feature seeks to address that lack. It includes work by several of the leading figures in urban history working in Japan today. The essays cover urban politics in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, real estate and suburban development, municipal responses to environmental hazards, gender and working-class culture, and informal economies. In this introduction, a brief background on the city is provided, followed by a review of the themes addressed in the other essays.