The town of Edo was roughly categorized into an uptown area west of Edo Castle where samurai lived, and a downtown (shitamachi) area facing several rivers and moats beginning with the Sumidagawa riverwhere commoners lived.
江戸の町は、大きく分けて見ると江戸城の西に広がる山の手の武家屋敷と、東の隅田川をはじめとする数々の河川・堀に面した庶民の町（下町）に大別される。