In today’s article, we shall discuss the history of Tokyo Bay, a lovely bay in the south of Japan. Tokyo Bay is a large bay that is located next to the cities of Tokyo & Yokohama at the northern end, & Yokosuka at the southern end. It is extremely industrialized, with many harbors, & commercial districts along its shore. The bay rests in the northern Pacific Ocean, on the island of Honshu. It connects to the Pacific Ocean through the Uraga channel. Though the bay has an average depth of 130 feet, it can become over 1,500 feet deep in certain areas. The area as well as the bay itself is well known in film, as it is often the place where the fictional kaiju “Godzilla”, emerges from. Godzilla is a fictional Japanese monster, created by Toho Studios in the 1950’s.
Historically, the bay has been used for trade, & as a strategic location during war. Islands in the bay both artificial & natural have been used to store artillery during battle, & have been used as fortresses. In addition to being useful for war, it was the historic center of fishing. Until industrialization at the beginning of the 20th century, Tokyo Bay was the main area for the fishing industry in Japan. It was a major source of shellfish, fish, & many other marine creatures. Unfortunately, this fishing activity began declining at the beginning of the 1900s, before ultimately ceasing after World War 2.
The bay is extremely biodiverse, with animals of many varieties living both in its waters & around its shore. One of the strangest of these animals is the Goblin Shark (Mitsukurina Owstoni). To those who wish to learn more, we published an article about this creature on August 20th, 2024. To find this article, please type “Mitsukurina Owstoni”, in the search function of our website.
The bay spans 2 prefectures, from the Kanagawa Prefecture to the Chiba Prefecture. It has an area of approximately 580 square miles (1502.19 kilometers). At the time of publishing, Tokyo Bay is the most industrialized area in all of Japan, as well as the most populated.
In this article, we shall be discussing the Documented History of Tokyo Bay, the Indigenous Aboriginals of Tokyo Bay, the most destructive man-caused & natural disasters, the economy of Tokyo Bay, & the rivers of Tokyo Bay. With that being said, let us delve into this beautiful serene bay.
The Documented History Of Tokyo Bay
History from 1600 to the 1800’s
Tokugawa Ieyasu made Tokyo (Then called Edo) the de facto capital of Japan in the early 1600’s, and by 1700 Edo grew to become one of the largest cities in the world. The people of Edo, Yokohama, and other cities on Tokyo Bay’s shore made use of Tokyo Bay for fishing and trade. Edo’s people also practiced advanced (for the time) wastewater recycling and management, reducing the amount of pollution entering Tokyo Bay.
History From The 1800’s
In the years 1852 & 1853, Tokyo Bay hosted the Perry Expedition, an expedition led by the United States Naval Corps to negotiate with the Tokugawa Shogunate. At this time the Tokugawa Shogunate, the effective reigning government of Japan, was very hostile towards foreigners. When the expedition was first launched, there was a 220-year-old isolation policy in place, which prohibited foreign trade almost completely. The Perry Expedition was considered to be a key way to open trade with Japan, & encourage the government to allow more foreign trade. While the main goal of the expedition was to open Japan to trade with America, ships also aimed to survey the coast of Japan, & further explore Japanese Waters. The expedition first began in 1852, with an American Ship sailing from Virginia to Japan. The ship reached the Uraga Channel on July 8th, 1852, where its captain attempted to sail into Tokyo Bay. This was met with great hostility from the Japanese, who immediately surrounded the American ship. Through a 6-day negotiation process, the American ship was allowed to land near modern-day Yokosuka. A letter sent by current President Fillmore arrived during this time. The ship left after 3 days bound for China, promising to return soon to get their reply to the president.
Unfortunately, soon after the Americans left, the Shogun fell ill & promptly passed away. He was quickly succeeded by his young son, however this left the government in a harebrained state.
The Americans would return on February 13th of the following year with a fleet of eight new ships, with a ninth soon to follow. They sailed into the small village of Yokohama, where a hall had been erected to aid in negotiations. Negotiations lasted approximately 3 weeks, with many state gifts being exchanged between the American & Japanese governments. These gifts included a small steam locomotive, one hundred gallons of whiskey, & books about the United States by the Americans, & porcelain goblets, a small collection of sea shells, silk garments, & bronze ornaments by the Japanese.
In the end, an agreement was reached, & Japan became open to trade with Americans. Later trade agreements were reached with many other nations.
As mentioned before, Tokyo Bay only has 1 natural island artificial island, however, it also has many small artificial islands. One of these islands, Odaiba, was constructed around the time of the Perry Expedition in order to fend off foreign ships. Its name translates to fort, or forts with cannon. At the time of its construction, Odaiba Island had several mounted guns & cannons to defend against foreign attacks. After the period of Japanese isolation, Odaiba island was largely undeveloped, until the 1990’s.
Historical Events From the 1900’s
The cities along Tokyo Bay expanded enormously during the 20th century. Yokohama’s population surpassed 3 million, and Tokyo became the world’s most populous city. Ocean trade passing through Tokyo Bay increased exponentially.
In 1989, work began on the Tokyo Bay Aqualine. The Tokyo Bay Aqualine is a combination of 2 underwater tunnels, & a large bridge. These underwater tunnels run underneath Tokyo Bay. The bridge & underwater tunnels were opened in 1997, & run from Kawasaki to Kisarazu, across Tokyo Bay. In total, the line cost 1.4 billion Japanese Yen, & took 23 years of planning, as well as 9 years of construction.
In the late 1990’s & the early 2000’s, the island of Odaiba was repurposed as a commercial, residential, & recreational area. Several entertainment companies decided to move their headquarters to the area, most namely Fuji Television. Soon after, Tokyo Big Sight, a large Exhibition hall, was built on the island.
The D1 Grand Prix Motorcar Drifting Series, one of the largest car drifting events in the world, was hosted in Odaiba in the years 2004, & 2018.
Historical Events From The 2000’s
Odaiba hosted multiple events for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. The area hosted several Beach Volleyball Events, Parts of Triathlon Events, & Marathon Swimming.
The Indigenous Aboriginal Japanese Of Tokyo Bay
The “Jomon”, the first, aboriginal, native Japanese Peoples have inhabited Tokyo Bay for thousands of years. It is not clear how Tokyo Bay impacted them, or if there were any variations between the aboriginal Japanese of Tokyo Bay, & the aboriginal Japanese inhabiting the rest of South Japan. The Jomon do seem to have been skilled fishermen and made use of seashells in crafts. The Jomon near Tokyo Bay seem to have eaten shellfish, likely collected from Tokyo Bay. They also “exploited” the whales and dolphins living in Tokyo Bay.
The Most Destructive Man-Caused & Natural Disasters To Affect Tokyo Bay
Unfortunately, there are not many major disasters to have originated from Tokyo Bay. However, typhoons have sometimes arrived in Tokyo Bay from further south. Earthquakes have also sometimes caused tsunamis in Tokyo Bay.
The Economy Of Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay houses some of the most important ports in Japan. The bay houses the Port of Chiba, the Port of Yokohama, the Port of Tokyo, & the Port of Kisarazu, which at the time of publishing, are some of the busiest ports in all of Japan, & Asia.
The Rivers Of Tokyo Bay
The Yōrō River
The Yōrō River is a river that flows into Tokyo Bay from the Chiba Prefecture. In total, the river is approximately 45.6 miles long (73.38609 kilometers). The river is well known for its hiking trails, scenic landscapes, waterfalls, & onsen hot spring. The river is also important for agriculture, as the middle & lower parts of the river have been integrated into rice fields.
The Obitsu River
The Obitsu River is a river that flows into Tokyo Bay. In total, the river is approximately 55 miles (88.5139 kilometers) in length. The mouth of the river is home to the only remaining tidal flat in Tokyo Bay, which is extremely important to the ecology of the Bay. In 2012, it was identified as being home to an endangered species of Crab.
The Arakawa River
The Arakawa is one of the longest rivers that flows into Tokyo Bay, with an astounding length of 107 miles (172.2 kilometers). The bay flows south from Mount Kobushi into Tokyo Bay. This river is one of the major sources of Tap Water for the people of Tokyo.
The Edo River
The Edo River is a river that flows into Tokyo Bay. It flows between the Tokyo, Chiba, & Saitama Prefectures. It is approximately 37 miles in length.
Directories / Credits
Citation No. 1: “Brief Summary of the Perry Expedition to Japan, 1853”, Written by Unknown, & Published on August 23rd, 2017. Retrieval Date: June 30th, 2024.
Citation No. 2: “The United States & the Opening to Japan, 1853”, Written By Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by the United States Department Of State. Retrieval Date: June 30th, 2024.
Citation No. 3: “Tokyo Bayside Story: History of Odaiba”, Written by Unknown, & Published on June 4th, 2020. Published by WAttention. Retrieval Date: June 30th, 2024.
Citation No. 4: “The Tokyo Bay Area’s Development: Lessons to be Learned” Written by Wenda Ma, & Published on October 22nd, 2018. Published by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Retrieval Date: June 30th, 2024.
Citation No. 5: “Yoro Valley”, Written by Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by the Japan National Tourism Agency. Retrieval Date: June 30th, 2024.
Citation No. 6: “Obitsu River Mouth & Tidal Flat”, Written by Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by Guidoor. Retrieval Date: June 30th, 2024.
Citation No. 7: “Exploitation of whale and dolphin resources in the Jomon period in Tokyo Bay”, Written by Tanabe, Yumiko. Published by Unknown. Retrieval Date: Aug. 30, 2024.
Citation No. 8: ”Collections of Morse from the Shell Mounds of Omori”, Written by Immamura, Keiji. Published by UMDB Tokyo. Retrieval Date: Aug. 30, 2024. http://umdb.um.u-tokyo.ac.jp/DKankoub/Publish_db/2000dm2k/english/02/02-03.html
Citation No. 9: Japan Meteorological Society, Retrieval Date Aug. 30, 2024, https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/indexe.html
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