When you hear Tsukiji what comes to mind? If you’re like most people, the answer is “The fish market, of course!”
But what comes next? Sushi? Proximity to Ginza? The Olympics? If you haven’t been to one of the world’s biggest and most bustling fish markets, you have to go. Now. Without delay. The clock is ticking, and before long it will be relocated and this place will be gone forever. Did I say you should go right away?
The delightful cacophony, the ordered chaos, the "watch-out-or-you’ll-be-run-over" by the motorized cargo carts crisscrossing every which way, the speeding forklifts zooming by cutting you off, the frantic and mind-boggling commerce happening all around you—there’s nothing quite like the Tsukiji fish market experience.
A crack-of-dawn visit is not for sleepyheads, but those who do manage to roll out of bed in time will be rewarded with vivid impressions of a truly amazing place.
Who would have imagined when the market first opened in 1935 that it would become the big tourist draw it is today?
The market not being designed for gawkers is precisely what makes it so appealing. It’s a genuine working market with real people. There are no sanitized, fancy sections geared for tourists.
I fear this may change with the uprooting, so I apologize for repeating myself, but it’s a now-or-never visit. The market will be relocated to the nearby Toyosu bayside area in November 2016.
When you go to Tsukiji, be sure to drop by to offer prayers to the guardian Namiyoke Inari Jinja shrine next to the market. After bowing respectfully, go through the torii gates and you’ll see some unusual stones to your left. They are monuments to honor the sacrifices that fish, shrimp, eggs and more make for us. Seeing such things makes me love this beautiful country, Japan, even more.
Now let’s explore a bit of pre-fish market Tsukiji history. Tsukiji means “reclaimed land,” and was created in the mid-1600s by shoveling debris from a huge fire into what was then marshland.
An architecturally interesting temple, Tsukiji Honganji was erected in 1617 near Asakusa and was reconstructed multiple times over the centuries. The current main building was built in 1934.
The structure is unique in that it combines Indian and Japanese Buddhist styles, and inside the temple is a German pipe organ. Free pipe organ concerts are held monthly and open to the public. This temple is a perfect place to contemplate unity.
Many people are surprised to learn that Tsukiji was once home to many foreign settlements, like Yokohama and Kobe, because it was a convenient port.
From the late 1800s to early 1900s, the atmosphere was quite different from the image we associate with the place today. Many foreigners lived in Tsukiji, and Christian churches and educational institutions were constructed there. For example, Rikkyo University and Keio University were originally founded there. Built in 1902, the well-regarded St. Luke’s International Hospital still remains in Tsukiji.
The American Legation (today it would be called an embassy) moved here from Azabu in 1874 before moving to Akasaka where it stands today.
Strolling through back streets of Tsukiji, you can see early Showa Era (1926-1989) wooden homes and structures that are still covered in copper tiles. If you’re in the area on a Saturday, stop by Tsukiji Sabo for its 100-yen (83-cent) coffee jelly with soft-serve ice cream topping as you think about the impermanence of everything.
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This article by Lisa Vogt, a Washington-born and Tokyo-based photographer, originally appeared in the May 17 issue of Asahi Weekly. It is part of the series "Lisa’s Eye on Tokyo," which depicts the capital through the perspective of the author, a professor at Meiji University.