Tsukiji fish market

The land on which the fish market sat was created during the Edo period by the Tokugawa shogunate after the Great fire of Meireki of 1657. It was created through land reclamation on the Tokyo Bay, and the area was therefore named Tsukiji (築地), meaning "constructed land" or "reclaimed land". The fish market however was not sited here until the 20th century.[14]

The first fish market in Tokyo was originally located in the Nihonbashi district, next to the Nihonbashi bridge that gave the area its name.[15] The area was one of the earliest places to be settled when Edo (as Tokyo was known until the 1870s) was made the capital by Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the market provided food for the Edo castle built on a nearby hill. Tokugawa Ieyasu took a number of fishermen from Tsukuda, Osaka to Edo to provide fish for the castle in 1590.[16] Fish not bought by the castle was then sold near the Nihonbashi bridge, at a market called uogashi (literally, "fish quay").[17]

In August 1918, following the so-called Rice Riots (Kome Sōdō), which broke out in over 100 cities and towns in protest against food shortages and the speculative practices of wholesalers, the Japanese government was forced to create new institutions for the distribution of foodstuffs, especially in urban areas. A Central Wholesale Market Law was established in March 1923.[18]

The Great Kantō earthquake on 1 September 1923 devastated much of central Tokyo, including the Nihonbashi fish market. The Tokyo government, which already had plans to relocate the market due to its unsanitary conditions considered unsuitable for an area that had developed into a business center, then took the opportunity to move the market to the Tsukiji district.[19]

Tsukiji Fish Market

Following the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake architects and engineers from the Architectural Section of Tokyo Municipal Government were sent to Europe and America to do research for the new market. However, because of the sheer size of the market and the number of items traded they were forced to come up with their own unique design. The quarter circular shape allowed easier access and handling for freight trains and the steel structure above allowed a wide, continuous space free from columns and subdivisions.[20] The relocation of the market would be one of the biggest reconstruction projects in Tokyo after the earthquake, taking over six years involving 419,500 workers.[19]

Tsukiji was officially opened on February 11, 1935.[19] On the same day, Tōkyō-Shijō station (東京市場駅) was opened with tracks designed around the market area.[21] In this year, the big three markets (Tsukiji, Kanda and Koto) began operations as Tokyo Metropolitan Government's system of Central Wholesale Markets. And then, smaller branch markets (Ebara fruit and vegetables market, Toshima market, Adachi market and Meat market) were opened one by one in succession.[22]

After World War II, Tsukiji's transaction increased in volume, and its facilities became narrow and old fashioned. Relocation plans had been considered since late 1950s. The candidate place was Ohi, current Ohta market. However the plan could not get consensus among stakeholders. There was another plan in late 1980s to construct provisional market utilizing the vast site of Shiodome Freight Terminal, and rebuild advanced market facilities in Tsukiji area during that period. However the negotiation with Japanese National Railways was not unsuccessful.[23]

in 1998, six industry groups participating to Tsukiji market submitted a request in their joint signature to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to conduct study and hold discussing opportunity about relocating market functions to Tokyo Waterfront Area, four of them ware for the relocation and the remaining two were against. Throughout 1999, related municipal or urban engineering studies were conducted and discussing committees were held. In 2000, six industry groups and Tokyo Metropolitan Government reached an agreement to relocate.[24]

The Tsukiji fish market occupies valuable real estate close to the center of the city. Former Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara repeatedly called for moving the market to Toyosu, Koto.[25] The long-anticipated move to the new Toyosu Market (豊洲市場) was scheduled to take place in November 2016, in preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics,[26] but on August 31, 2016, the move was postponed.[27] There had been concerns that new location was heavily polluted and needed to be cleaned up.[28][29] The groundwater at the site contained contaminants that "far exceeded environmental limits", which was mitigated by installing additional water pumps.[7] There were plans to retain a retail market, roughly a quarter of the current operation, in Tsukiji.[30] The remaining area of the market would be redeveloped.[31]

In June 2017, plans to move the fish market were restarted.[32] but delayed in July to the autumn of 2018.[33] On 3 August 2017, a fire broke out in some of the outer buildings.[34]

After the new site had been declared safe following a cleanup operation, the opening date of the new market was set for 11 October 2018.[35] Tsukiji market closed on 6 October 2018, with the businesses of the inner market relocated to the new Toyosu Market between 6 and 11 October.[36] Even though Tsukiji inner market has moved to Toyosu, the outer market remains, selling food and other goods.[37] The former market was used temporarily as a hub for transport vehicles during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. It will be developed into a complex with a convention center, hotels, and other facilities by the 2040s.[38]