Kabutocho


Kabutochō or more formally Nihonbashi Kabutochō is a neighborhood of Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, where the Tokyo Stock Exchange and many securities companies are located, so that it is considered Japan's equivalent of Wall Street in New York City.

History

The name of Kabutochō, literally the town of Kabuto, is said to come from a legend that Minamoto no Yoshiie, upon his return from having conquered the north-eastern provinces in the eleventh century, buried his helmet there. It used to be a swampy area till the early 17th century, when the Daimyo who were forced to participate in the building of the Edo Castle built their residences.
By the Meiji period, the Kabutochō area came to be owned by the Mitsui family. In 1871, Eiichi Shibusawa established there First National Bank that later would become Mizuho Bank. As the Tokyo Stock Exchange was established there in 1878, the area soon became Japan's financial center, with many securities companies and banks setting up their headquarters and/or branch offices.

Revitalization

Recently, as the securities trading has become electronic, larger securities firms have already left Kabutocho to other premier locations in Tokyo. Heiwa Real Estate, the owner of the TSE and Osaka Exchange buildings, has kicked off a Kabutochō Revitalization project.