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The Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market (東京都中央卸売市場, Tōkyō-to Chūō Oroshiuri Shijō), commonly known as the Tsukiji Market (築地市場, Tsukiji shijō), is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world and also one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind. The market is located in Tsukiji in central Tokyo, and is a major attraction for foreign visitors.Tsukiji as seen from Shiodome The market is located near the Tsukijishijō Station on the Toei Ōedo Line and Tsukiji Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line. There are two distinct sections of the market as a whole. The "inner market" (jonai shijo) is the licensed wholesale market, where the auctions and most of the processing of the fish take place, and where licensed wholesale dealers (approximately 900 of them) operate small stalls. The "outer market" (jogai shijo) is a mixture of wholesale and retail shops that sell Japanese kitchen tools, restaurant supplies, groceries, and seafood, and many restaurants, especially sushi restaurants. Most of the shops in the outer market close by the early afternoon, and in the inner market even earlier. 
Cutting frozen tuna with a band saw The first market in Tokyo was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Edo period to provide food for Edo castle (nowadays Tokyo). Tokugawa Ieyasu invited fishermen from Tsukuda, Osaka to Edo to provide fish for the castle. Fish not bought by the castle was sold near the Nihonbashi bridge, at a market called uogashi (literally, "fish quay") which was one of many specialized wholesale markets that lined the canals of Edo (as Tokyo was known until the 1870s). In August 1918, following the so-called "Rice Riots" (Kome Soudou), which broke out in over 100 cities and towns in protest against food shortages and the speculative practices of wholesalers, the Japanese government was forced to create new institutions for the distribution of foodstuffs, especially in urban areas. A Central Wholesale Market Law was established in March 1923. 
An oroshi hocho in use at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo
Coordinates: 35°39′41″N 139°46′11″E / 35.66139°N 139.76972°E / 35.66139; 139.76972 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia : Wholesale of fish, crustaceans and molluscs |
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