The Infilling and Reclamation of Inland Waterways in Tokyo, 1945–1962

Abstract

As part of their reconstruction of the city following Allied bombing during World War II, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government infilled medium to small inland waterways (namely, canals and moats constructed during the 17th century) and utilised the resultant terrestrial strips for new purposes. Wartime damage reconstruction was conducted as part of the official city planning of Tokyo. During the 1940s, various waterways in Tokyo were infilled primarily with debris resulting from wartime bombing and, thereby, these landfills presented a model for the disposal of debris from disasters. In Japan, 115 municipalities were designated as war-damaged cities by the government, whose reconstruction was conducted as official city planning. The article examines how common the disposal of wartime debris via the in-filling of inland waterways was. The in-filling of Tokyo’s inland waterways caused the loss of watery spaces that are nowadays regarded as cultural heritage assets with recreational potential. Studies have either criticised the infilling of waterways or else underscored opposition to the activity. How then was it possible for the authorities to decide on infilling and land reclamation as city planning? Was there any social support for this project? Relatedly, should the decision by the metropolitan government to infill inland waterways be regarded as inappropriate? This article considers these questions and evaluates the modification of such areas after WWII.