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31-491: Ginza was a part of the old Kyobashi ward of Tokyo City , which, together with Nihonbashi and Kanda , formed the core of Shitamachi , the original downtown center of Edo (Tokyo). Ginza was built upon a former swamp that was filled in during the 16th century. The name Ginza comes after the establishment of a silver-coin mint established there in 1612, during the Edo period . After a devastating fire in 1872 burned down most of

62-463: A church or municipal building such as a town hall . Not all clocks on buildings therefore make the building into a clock tower. The mechanism inside the tower is known as a turret clock . It often marks the hour (and sometimes segments of an hour) by sounding large bells or chimes , sometimes playing simple musical phrases or tunes. Some clock towers were previously built as Bell towers and then had clocks added to them. As these structures fulfil

93-481: A mannequin , every hour. It was possible to re-program the length of day and night daily in order to account for the changing lengths of day and night throughout the year, and it also featured five robotic musicians who automatically play music when moved by levers operated by a hidden camshaft attached to a water wheel . Line (mains) synchronous tower clocks were introduced in the United States in

124-788: A clock was put up in a clock tower, the medieval precursor to Big Ben , at Westminster , in 1288; and in 1292 a clock was put up in Canterbury Cathedral . The oldest surviving turret clock formerly part of a clock tower in Europe is the Salisbury Cathedral clock , completed in 130. A clock put up at St. Albans , in 1326, 'showed various astronomical phenomena'. Al-Jazari of the Artuqid dynasty in Upper Mesopotamia constructed an elaborate clock called

155-607: A common sight in many parts of the world with some being iconic buildings. One example is the Elizabeth Tower in London (usually called " Big Ben ", although strictly this name belongs only to the bell inside the tower). There are many structures that may have clocks or clock faces attached to them and some structures have had clocks added to an existing structure. According to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

186-426: A famous photo spot, some cats sleep on signs, where people can put their own cats onto these signs. The location where cats are is different depending on the date. Other stations near Ginza: Ginza Station, Yurakucho Station, Hibiya Station are connected underground. Public elementary and junior high schools are operated by Chuo City Board of Education. Zoned elementary schools include the following: All of Ginza

217-418: A structure is defined as a building if at least fifty percent of its height is made up of floor plates containing habitable floor area. Structures that do not meet this criterion, are defined as towers . A clock tower historically fits this definition of a tower and therefore can be defined as any tower specifically built with one or more (often four) clock faces and that can be either freestanding or part of

248-538: A whole, e.g. today's Hiroshima City ( -shi ) was then Hiroshima-ku ; the three major cities of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto were each subdivided into several such wards. In Tokyo Prefecture, this created 15 wards (listed below) and six counties/districts. In 1888, the central government created the legal framework for the current system of cities ( shi ) that granted some basic local autonomy rights – with some similarities to Prussia's system of local self-government as Meiji government advisor Albert Mosse heavily influenced

279-495: Is a popular destination on weekends, when the main north–south artery is closed to traffic since the 1960s, under governor Ryokichi Minobe . Many leading fashion houses' flagship stores are located here, in the area with the highest concentration of Western shops in Tokyo. It is one of two locations in Tokyo considered by Chevalier and Mazzalovo to be the best locations for a luxury goods store. Prominent high-end retailers include

310-855: Is now Tokyo, also known as the Tokyo Metropolis or, ambiguously, Tokyo Prefecture. In 1868, the city of Edo , seat of the Tokugawa government, was renamed Tokyo, and the offices of Tokyo Prefecture ( -fu ) were opened. The extent of Tokyo Prefecture was initially limited to the former Edo city, but rapidly augmented to be comparable with the present Tokyo Metropolis. In 1878, the Meiji government's reorganization of local governments subdivided prefectures into counties or districts ( gun , further subdivided into towns and villages , later reorganized similar to Prussian districts ) and districts or wards ( ku ) which were in ordinary prefectures cities as

341-453: Is the theater for kabuki , one of Japanese traditional playing, and locates on between Ginza and Tsukiji. The building was opened in 1889 and has been reconstructed several times because of war and fire. The present building was built in 2013. Sukiyabashi Jiro ( すきやばし次郎 , Sukiyabashi Jirō ) is a sushi restaurant in Ginza which is owned and operated by sushi master Jiro Ono . It was

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372-485: Is zoned to Ginza Junior High School ( 中央区立銀座中学校 ). Tokyo City Tokyo City ( 東京市 , Tōkyō-shi ) was a municipality in Japan and capital of Tokyo Prefecture (or Tokyo-fu ) which existed from 1 May 1889 until the establishment of Tokyo Metropolis on 1 July 1943. The historical boundaries of Tokyo City are now occupied by the special wards of Tokyo . The defunct city and its prefecture became what

403-844: The Parliament of Canada in Ottawa , and the Zytglogge clock tower in the Old City of Bern , Switzerland . The tallest freestanding clock tower in the world is the Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower (Old Joe) at the University of Birmingham in Birmingham , United Kingdom. The tower stands at 100 metres (330 feet) tall and was completed in 1908. The clock tower of Philadelphia City Hall

434-437: The "castle clock" and described it in his Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices in 1206. It was about 3.3 metres (11 feet) high, and had multiple functions alongside timekeeping . It included a display of the zodiac and the solar and lunar paths, and a pointer in the shape of the crescent moon that travelled across the top of a gateway , moved by a hidden cart and causing automatic doors to open, each revealing

465-988: The 1920s. Some clock towers have become famous landmarks. Prominent examples include Elizabeth Tower built in 1859, which houses the Great Bell (generally known as Big Ben ) in London , the tower of Philadelphia City Hall , the Rajabai Tower in Mumbai , the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin , the Torre dell'Orologio in the Piazza San Marco in Venice , Italy , the Peace Tower of

496-587: The American company Carolina Herrera New York , French companies Chanel , Dior , Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent , Italian company Gucci and Austrian brands Swarovski and Riedel . Ginza is also home to many kimono stores, including Ginza Motoji , Echigo-ya, and Erizen. Many people choose to wear their kimono to visit Ginza, and window shop. Flagship electronic retail stores like the Sony showroom (which closed in 2017 and new building would open in 2022) and

527-716: The Irish-born engineer Thomas Waters ; the Bureau of Construction of the Ministry of Finance was in charge of construction. In the following year, a Western-style shopping promenade on the street from the Shinbashi bridge to the Kyōbashi bridge in the southwestern part of Chūō with two- and three-story Georgian brick buildings was completed. These "bricktown" buildings were initially offered for sale and later were leased, but

558-641: The area, the Meiji government designated the Ginza area as a "model of modernization." The government planned the construction of fireproof brick buildings and larger, better streets connecting Shimbashi Station all the way to the foreign concession in Tsukiji. Soon after the fire, redevelopment schemes were prepared by Colin Alexander McVean a chief surveyor of the Public Works under direction of Yamao Yozo , but execution designs were provided by

589-560: The current structure of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government was formed. Clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building. Some other buildings also have clock faces on their exterior but these structures serve other main functions. Clock towers are

620-486: The custom of "killing time in Ginza" developed strongly between the two world wars. Most of these European-style buildings disappeared, but some older buildings still remain, most famously the Wakō building with the now-iconic Hattori Clock Tower. The building and the clock tower were originally built by Kintarō Hattori, the founder of Seiko . Its recent history has seen it as a prominent outpost of Western luxury shops. Ginza

651-416: The definition of a tower they can be considered to be clock towers. Although clock towers are today mostly admired for their aesthetics, they once served an important purpose. Before the middle of the twentieth century, most people did not have watches, and prior to the 18th century even home clocks were rare. The first clocks did not have faces, but were solely striking clocks , which sounded bells to call

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682-642: The first Apple Store outside the United States are also here (Ginza 2 chome). The electronics company Ricoh is headquartered in the Ricoh Building in Ginza. The neighborhood is a major shopping district. It is home to Wako department store, which is located in a building dating from 1894. The building has a clock tower . There are many department stores in the area, including Hankyu , Seibu , and Matsuya , in which there are many shops: grocery stores, restaurants, women and men clothes, sportswear, and jewellers etc. There are also art galleries . Kabuki-za

713-767: The first sushi restaurant in the world to receive three stars from the Michelin Guide , although it was removed from the Michelin Guide in November 2019 because it does not accept reservations from the general public. Each Saturday and Sunday, from 12:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m., the main street through Ginza is closed off to road traffic, allowing people to walk freely. This is called Hokōsha Tengoku ( 歩行者天国 ) or Hokoten for short, literally meaning "pedestrian heaven". There are some people who do street performance such as magic and playing instruments. As

744-548: The government began to appoint a separate mayor of Tokyo City in 1898, but retained ward-level legislation, which continues to this day in the special ward system. From 1926, the mayor was elected by the elected city council/assembly from its own ranks. The city hall of Tokyo was located in the Yūrakuchō district, on a site now occupied by the Tokyo International Forum . Tokyo became the second-largest city in

775-417: The high rent prevented many of them from being permanently occupied. Moreover, the construction was not adapted to the climate, and the bold design contrasted the traditional Japanese notion of home construction. The new Ginza was not popular with visiting foreigners, who were looking for a more Edo-styled city. Isabella Bird visited in 1878 and in 1880 implied that Ginza was less like an Oriental city than like

806-492: The organization of local government. But under a special imperial regulation, Tokyo City, like Kyoto City and Osaka City, initially did not maintain a separate mayor; instead, the (appointed) governor of Tokyo Prefecture served as mayor of Tokyo City. The Tokyo city council /assembly ( Tōkyō-shikai ) was first elected in May 1889. Each ward also retained its own assembly. City and prefectural government were separated in 1898., and

837-500: The outskirts of Chicago or Melbourne. Philip Terry, the English writer of tour guides, likened it to Broadway, not in a positive sense. Nevertheless, the area flourished as a symbol of " civilization and enlightenment " thanks to the presence of newspapers and magazine companies, which helped spread the latest trends of the day. The area was also known for its window displays, an example of modern marketing techniques. Everyone visited so

868-477: The surrounding community to work or to prayer. They were therefore placed in towers so the bells would be audible for a long distance. Clock towers were placed near the centres of towns and were often the tallest structures there. As clock towers became more common, the designers realized that a dial on the outside of the tower would allow the townspeople to read the time whenever they wanted. The use of clock towers dates back to antiquity . The earliest clock tower

899-578: The world (population 4.9 million) upon absorbing several outlying districts in July 1932, giving the city a total of 35 wards. In 1943, the city was abolished along with Tokyo Prefecture to form Tokyo Metropolis and Tokyo Metropolitan Government , which was functionally a part of the central government of Japan: the governor of Tokyo became a Cabinet minister reporting directly to the Prime Minister . This system remained in place until 1947 when

930-620: Was part of the tallest building in the world from 1894, when the tower was topped out and the building partially occupied, until 1908. Taller buildings have had clock faces added to their existing structure such as the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw , with a clock added in 2000. The building has a roof height of 187.68 m (615.7 ft), and an antenna height of 237 m (778 ft). The NTT Docomo Yoyogi Building in Tokyo , with

961-649: Was the Tower of the Winds in Athens , which featured eight sundials and was created in the 1st century BC during the period of Roman Greece . In its interior, there was also a water clock (or clepsydra), driven by water coming down from the Acropolis . In Song dynasty China , an astronomical clock tower was designed by Su Song and erected at Kaifeng in 1088, featuring a liquid escapement mechanism. In England,

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