Hikeshi

Japanese cities were extremely prone to fires due to the fact that paper and wood were the main building materials.

Tokyo's position in the centre of the Kantō Plain makes the buildings fire-hazardous in the winter: the cold and dry Siberian winds facilitated burning while making the residents to keep active fireplaces to stay warm and to use oil lamps for lighting; because of this, two-thirds of all Tokyo fires occurred from November to February.

[1][2][3] Japanese houses of that time were built from paper and wood (plastering was only accessible for the daimyo and the wealthiest of the merchants[b]), with hay or wooden covering; only palaces and some of the administration's residences had roof tiles.

[2][5] The main technique of firefighting was demolishing the buildings that stood by the sides of the flame source so that the houses standing by the wind's direction would burn down until the paddy fields; the fire's path became long but very narrow.

[12] Tokugawa administration violently persecuted arsonists: they tortured people suspected in arson and organised public executions, although the fact that about half of the executed people belonged to the lowest social class (hinin) or were vagabonds[e] suggests that maintaining the social hierarchy was equally important.

[13] Other than that, dozens of volunteer fire brigades (machi bikeshi[i]) appear, staffed with common city residents.

kites), hired from construction workers' guilds and roofers; they climbed the burning houses and destroyed their roofs with pike poles called tobiguchi,[j] preventing the fire from spreading further.

[14][3] Matoi consisted of a long pole with a lot of paper or fabric ribbons attached to its top along with the fire brigade's logo.

[14] In 1747, the authorities specifically called for the machi matoi brigades to extinguish the Edo Castle fire, which became an official acknowledgement of their higher status.

[14] Brigades divided their firefighters into six ranks; all of them received a small allowance that was not enough for permanent employment, so the hikeshi had to accept work in constriction or look for patrons.

[14] At the same time, hikeshi were celebrated as city heroes while tobi received the biggest salary among the day laborers.