Yamanote

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The traditional name for the affluent, upper-class areas of Tokyo west of the Imperial Palace, especially Bunkyō-ku and Shinjuku-ku. [Kōjien Japanese dictionary] [ [http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B1%B1%E3%81%AE%E6%89%8B 山の手] , Japanese Wikipedia] . The name, which in Japanese means "an elevated ground or plateau" [Kōjien Japanese dictionary] is due to the fact that it lies on the slopes of the Musashino Plateau, which is a relief that, from inner Honshu goes down towards the sea, so that even Edo Castle and the Imperial Palace rest on it [ [http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AD%A6%E8%94%B5%E9%87%8E%E5%8F%B0%E5%9C%B0 武蔵野台地] , Japanese Wikipedia] . Both the Yamanote Line and Yamate Dori (or Kampachi) take their name from the region because they cross it [ [http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B1%B1%E3%81%AE%E6%89%8B 山の手] , Japanese Wikipedia] .

History of the term Yamanote

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 nihongo|Shitamachi|Japanese: 下町 (したまち) |Shita machi, literally "low town" or "low city" located next to the Sumida River, and the aristocratic nihongo|Yamanote|Japanese: 山の手 (やまのて) |Yama no te located on the hills of the Musashino Plateau. [ [http://www.amazon.com/Low-City-High-Earthquake-1867-1923/dp/0674539397 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] ] Although neither of the two was ever an official name, both stuck and are still in some use. Both words are used with the same meaning in other parts of the country too. The term Yamanote is also used for example in Hokkaido, Oita and Osaka [ [http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B1%B1%E3%81%AE%E6%89%8B 山の手] , Japanese Wikipedia] . The term Yamanote has a connotation of classiness, whereas Shitamachi has one of liveliness and human warmth [Kōjien Japanese dictionary] .

The Yamanote Today

Because the terms are centuries-old, the meaning and the physical areas the two terms define have changed several times. In an interview with magazine Metropolis, noted translator and Shitamachi scholar Edward Seidensticker declared that in his opinion nowadays the dividing line between today's equivalents of Shitamachi and Yamanote goes from Ginza to Shinjuku, and he prefers to call the two areas 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. [ [http://www.metropolis.co.jp/tokyofeaturestoriesarchive349/300/tokyofeaturestoriesinc.htm Tokyo Feature Story: Edward Seidensticker] , Metropolis Magazine] .

References