An Edo Izakaya That Lay Beneath the Campus

2023/03/10

During the excavation of the "Mita 2-chome Machiya Site" conducted for the construction of the Mita Campus East Annex, where the Keio Museum Commons (KeMCo) is active, various "traces" were found showing the long-standing relationship between people and this land from the Jomon period to the Edo period. In Minato Ward, which was a corner of the great city of Edo, traces of the Edo period remain everywhere (including underground). Some people may have the image that archaeology targets much older periods, but any "trace of the past," regardless of when it dates from, is a subject for investigation and research. The excavation revealed many traces unique to a merchant district surrounded by many daimyo residences.

Surveys of the late Edo period yielded numerous artifacts related to Edo's food culture, such as Tokkuri, pots, Choko, and bowls. These vessels have a familiar appearance even today, but they were made and used approximately 200 years ago. It is quite common for many pieces of tableware to be excavated from Edo sites. However, this site is characterized by the prominence of matching sets of bowls, Choko, plates, and pots of the same design and shape. Furthermore, a large number of Tokkuri engraved with the same name, "Uchita," were unearthed. Using the text "Uchita" as a clue to search historical documents, it was discovered that a liquor store called "Uchidaya" existed in Mita 2-chome. If this site was indeed "Uchidaya," the existence of matching tableware suggests the provision of meals at the shop. This place may have once been an Izakaya where the people of Edo enjoyed sake.

The exhibition "Constructing the Site" held at KeMCo (March 6 – April 27) focuses on the results of these excavations, including "Uchidaya," as well as "things that were not excavated." Excavations accompanying development always force a choice of "which traces to target." Conversely, this means there were traces lost without being selected or recorded. This time, we introduced the "history" told by "things that were excavated." On the other hand, in the exhibition, we hope to provide an opportunity to think with everyone about the possibilities of "alternative histories" glimpsed through "things that were not excavated."

(Hinako Iwanami, Ph.D. program, Major in History, Graduate School of Letters, Keio University)