Nihonbashi (unknown date)

A streetcar crosses Nihonbashi bridge in Nihonbashi, Tokyo. The white buildings on the right constitute the Tokyo fish-market. During the early Edo Period (1603-1868) Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu invited fishermen from Tsukudajima in Osaka to Edo to provide fish for the castle. These fishermen started a specialized wholesale market called Uogashi (fish quay) in Nihonbashi. After the Nihonbashi fish-market was destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake of September 1, 1923, it was relocated to the Tsukiji district, where it still operates to this day. Nihonbashi was also the starting point of the many kaido (roadways) that led from Tokyo to cities all over Japan. All the activity attracted shops that eventually grew into trading houses and huge department stores, like Mitsukoshi department store. In 1896, the national mint was relocated to Nihonbashi. Soon, the Bank of Japan (Nippon Ginko)and other financial institutions followed and the area turned into an important financial center and trade.