65-Edo's Recycling Society-Nov. 2024-Zundamon
Nada, we will talk more and more about the recycling society in the Edo period~!
In the old days in Edo, the spirit of "mottainai (wasteful)" was surprisingly thoroughly practiced, where everything was used up with great care and not wasted. For example, paper was used over and over again as toilet paper, and when it was used up, it was sold to a collector called "kami kuzu bai" (scrap paper buyer) and turned into new paper again. This was the recycling method in the Edo period. Metal products such as pots and kettles were repaired by "tinkagaya," and wooden tubs and barrels were recycled by "hoop makers" who re-tightened the rings of the bamboo. It was brilliant!
Even the ashes and manure were collected. The ashes were collected by "ash buyers" in the town and used as fertilizer for the fields. Furthermore, "manure buyers" were active in the Kanda and Ueno areas, where farmers collected manure from urban areas. Interestingly, because the manure of the samurai was full of nutrients, it was traded at a higher price than the manure of the townspeople. For example, the price per one koku (about 180 liters) was twice as much as that of the townspeople, a huge difference. It is amazing to know that there is a class of people in the world, even in manure!
Fuel was mainly firewood and charcoal in Edo because there was no coal or petroleum. The bathhouses in Asakusa, for example, collected wood scraps from the neighborhood to use as fuel. Excess tree branches were also reused by "wood pickers," and everyone supported each other to survive. The people of Edo were great to have built such a sustainable eco-system!
That is why there was almost no garbage in Edo. They had such a wonderful recycling culture that they could be considered the forerunners of today's eco-society. Zundamon hopes to learn from the "mottainai" spirit of the Edo period and aim for a lifestyle that conserves resources!
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