The Essential traveler's Guide To Japan

Evolution of castle towns

 

The castle towns within each domain grew because of the arrival of artisans and merchants. Within each domain, the daimyo could build one castle as the seat of his authority. The samurai lived around these castles. The farmers were also near this area. Artisans, merchants, and their families gravitated to the site of the castle and provided the needs of the samurai and the daimyo. They required accommodations, goods, and services of their own so the economies of the castle towns continued to grow.

 

The castle towns grew rapidly during the Edo period. Edo, Kyoto, and Osaka each grew to more than 1000000 cities.