History of Human-Water Interaction in Tokyo during the 20th Century

Water is a fundamental prerequisite for urban development, and the history of cities can often be understood as a history of water. Tokyo, one of the world’s largest megacities, has undergone dramatic transformations since the Edo period. As the city shifted from Edo to Tokyo, it became the epicenter of rapid modernization and postwar economic growth. Throughout the 20th century, Tokyo implemented water resource development projects that extended far beyond the city itself, reshaping surrounding river basins and rural areas. At the same time, the city’s water environment experienced profound and sometimes adverse changes. This presentation explores the trajectory of Tokyo’s water development and environmental transformation over the past century through the lens of human–water interaction. By examining how water infrastructure, governance, and societal needs co-evolved, we gain insights into the dynamics of urbanization and water management in one of the most densely populated and complex metropolitan regions in the world.

Shinichiro NAKAMURA (B.S. Shibaura Institute of Technology, 2006; M.Eng in Civil Engineering, the University of Tokyo, 2008; Ph.D. (Engineering), the University of Tokyo, 2014) is a hydrologist and a water historian. He has advanced education in both hydrology and water history, and has expertise in the fundamentals of Hydrology, Water History, and flood disaster mitigation in Asian countries. From 2008 to 2009, he worked as a civil and water engineer consultant in Tokyo. During the period 2010-2014, he worked on a project on water and social communication as a project assistant professor at the University of Tokyo. In 2014, he joined Nagoya University as a lecturer and was promoted to associate professor in 2018. From 2023 to 2024, he was an invited researcher at L’École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) in Paris. In recent years, Shinichiro has been extensively researching the historical processes of human-water interactions in Asian countries with interdisciplinary approaches.

Moderator: Thomas GARCIN (Paris Cité Univ., FRIJ-MFJ)

Organization: FRIJ-MFJ

Collaboration: German Institute, Waseda Univ., Rikkyo Univ., Sophia Univ., Temple Univ.