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By the beginning of the 18th century, the population of Tokyo had grown about 1 million,
making it the largest city in Japan and one of the most populous in the world. An especially lively
section of the city was along the Sunida River, where pleasure boats and parties were common and
whose banks were lined with fashionable tea-houses. Tea was central to the Japanese not only in their
homes, but in the public life as well. In the bustling urban centres of the 18th-century Japan, tea-
houses served similar to the one played by coffee-houses in Europe which were centres of discussion
and entertainment.
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