Tokyo is cutting edge city dedicated to progress, technology paves the way to the future bringing with it the problems of today's metropolises. To better appreciate it, I decided to focus my research on the humble origins of this port citadel formerly known as Edo.

Below is the finished work which was created only using Illustrator with not few struggles from my computer to achive this visual art style. Photoshop was also used but only to apply some minor changes like custom grain and few corrections.

It was under the rule of the Tokugawa that the small village known as Edo, experienced the beginning of the massive economic and demographic growth which translated in the metropolis we know today as Tokyo.

After the emperor moved in the castle of Edo, the Sankin-kōtai system was introduced.

This meant that the feudal lords from all over Japan were forced to take a residence in Edo and reside there yearly, while their wives and heirs were held hostages in the city.

This law had numerous purposes, from draining the wealth of the lords and thus hindering their ability to wage wars, to gathering the elite class together and therefore increase the emperor’s control. The concentration of nobles with their wealth and entourage attracted merchants, bureaucrats, artisans and farmers starting the substantial increase in the population.

The main focus of the illustration is the gathering in Edo of the lower classes, not to serve the feudal lords anymore but to travel to the present and give birth to the modern city of Tokyo. The Torii gate found in the middle of the artwork is traditionally built to mark the entrance of a sacred space and sets the landmark for the crowd in pilgrimage. The way its placed suggests that is up to the viewer to decide which side is the holy ground leaving room for personal interpretation.

For the colors I choose a reddish/pink palette for the ancient lower part to symbolise the frequent fires that destroyed the city of Edo, while colder blues, purples and metallic cyan for the upper Tokyo to create a less welcoming feeling and consequentially subtly exposing my view of which side of the Torii gate I felt more sacred.

Thank you for watching! 

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