Munesh Yadav

How Japan saved its biggest city from collapse

400 years ago, the place we now call Tokyo was known as Edo. It was already one of the largest cities in the world, with almost 1 million people living there. But the city was close to a big ecological problem. Years of cutting too many trees had caused heavy deforestation. Edo now had shortages of wood, bad soil erosion, and floods that often happened. These problems put food supplies in danger. However, in just a few decades, Edo changed a lot and became one of the most sustainable and smart cities ever in history. So, how did this city that wasted almost nothing come to be? In 1467, Japan started a long time of bloody civil wars that went on for more than 100 years. But in 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu won against his enemy warlords and brought Japan under one rule. This started the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled from 1603 to 1867. During this time, Ieyasu and the later shoguns made big changes that affected Japan's money system, land, and way of life. The shoguns were worried about growing power from other countries. So, they made very strict rules on contact with the outside world. They stopped foreign traders from coming in, and Japanese people could hardly leave the country. Because imports dropped suddenly, the Tokugawa shoguns worked hard to increase things made inside Japan. At the same time, they reduced use and waste. These ideas were not completely new. They came from the Buddhist idea called mottainai, which means not wasting things and being happy with "just enough." The shoguns saw how much damage had happened to the forests around the capital, Edo. So, they made rules to limit cutting trees and started big programs to plant new forests. Villagers had to plant millions of trees at first, and later they got paid to do it. To reduce the need for wood, they brought in strict rules for sharing timber. Houses were built with standard wooden parts that could be taken apart and used again. Soon, whole businesses grew up to use the city's waste and turn it into something useful. People used farm waste, like rice straw, to make rope and packing things. Drops of candle wax were collected and made into new candles. Craftsmen fixed old umbrellas and worn sandals instead of throwing them away. Even human waste was collected and used as fertilizer for fields. Inside homes, families learned ways to reuse or change old things instead of throwing them out. Kimonos were mended again and again. When the cloth became too old to fix, it was used to cover futons. Then it was cut into diapers or cleaning rags. Finally, the last bits were burned as fuel. Artisans fixed broken pottery with kintsugi. They joined the pieces with lacquer and painted gold along the cracks, making them beautiful. A tradition called boro grew up. People sewed bits of old cloth together to make pretty patched clothes. These were passed down in families for many years. At the same time, poetry, theater, and books became very popular. People also studied Chinese Confucian ideas and some European science books. These were allowed in Japan, even though the writers themselves were not welcome. But the Tokugawa period had problems too. There were very strict laws, and the government ruled in a strong, controlling way. It was a feudal society with big differences between rich and poor. Most farmers (peasants) had to pay a heavy rice tax called nengu to their local lords, called daimyo. This tax was often very hard for them. By the second half of the 1800s, prices went up a lot (inflation), which made the economy weak. Outside pressures also grew, like when the United States used warships to force Japan to open up. All this made Japan start trading with foreign countries again. In the end, it led to the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate. Even with these problems, this time in history teaches us a strong lesson. Edo changed from a city almost destroyed by nature problems to a lively center of culture. It shows that broken things can be fixed, and fixing them can make something even more beautiful. Today, only about 7% of the world's economy is circular (reuse and recycle). Edo's story reminds us that we can build economies based on using limited things carefully, not on buying more and throwing away.Follow for more stories like this.