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The traditional name for the area of Tokyo going from Taitō-ku to Chiyoda-ku and Chuō-ku, the physically low part of the city next to, and particularly east of, the Sumida river.
Although superficially similar to the English term downtown and often thought to be analogous or even related to it, the term has in fact a different etymology and a very different set of meanings.

History of the area

By their very nature, the two terms Shitamachi and Yamanote should be explained together. From the beginning of its existence, Tokyo (the former Edo) has been culturally and economically divided in two parts: the plebeian Shitamachi (Japanese: 下町 (したまち), Shita machi), literally low town or low city, where artisans and merchants lived, and the aristocratic Yamanote (Japanese: 山の手 (やまのて), Yama no te), term loosely translatable as "towards the mountains". (For a better explanation of the meaning of the rather complex term Yamanote, see Yamanote.) Although neither of the two ever was an official name, both stuck and are still in use. Both words are used with the same meaning in other parts of the country too. The term Yamanote has a high-class connotation, whereas Shitamachi has one of liveliness, high cultural level and human warmth.

The Shitamachi today

Because the terms are centuries-old, their meaning and the physical they define have changed several times. In an interview with magazine Metropolis, noted translator and Shitamachi scholar Edward Seidensticker claims that nowadays the dividing line between today's equivalents of Shitamachi and Yamanote goes from Ginza to Shinjuku, and he prefers to call the two "north" and "south" because the old names are not longer appropriate.

He claims that a century ago Shitamachi's Ginza and Nihonbashi were the center of Tokyo insofar as shopping and entertainment were concerned. Today, those centers are in Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Shibuya and Shinagawa..

The important center of Ueno lies at the heart of the old Shitamachi and still has several museums and a concert hall. Today the immediate area, due to its close proximity to a major transportation hub, retains high land value but just a short walk away to the east or north reveals some of the less glitzy architecture of Tokyo.

The Shitamachi Museum in Ueno is dedicated to the area's way of life and culture, with models of old environments and buildings.

Use of the term in idiomatic expressions

Shitamachifū (Japanese: 下町風（したまちふう), shita machi fū) - Dashing, full of bravado, "cool", sexy
Shitamachi jōcho (Japanese: 下町情緒（したまちじょうちょ), shita machi jō cho) - The cordial atmosphere of a city's Shitamachi

Shitamachi no hito (Japanese: 下町の人（したまちの人), shita machi no hito) - A man or woman who has the typical outgoing and friendly personality of a Shitamachi person

The terms are only applied to real Shitamachi places or people.

References

1. Tokyo Feature Story: Edward Seidensticker, Metropolis Magazine

• Tokyo Feature Story: Edward Seidensticker, Metropolis Magazine
• Edward Seidensticker: Low City, High City: Tokyo from Edo to the Earthquake: how the shogun's ancient capital became a great modern city, 1867-1923
• 山の手 from Japanese Misplaced Pages
• Kōjien Japanese dictionary

External links

• The Shitamachi Museum site in English
• The Shitamachi Museum site in Japanese

• Geography of Tokyo