When woodblock print master Ando Hiroshige created his famed "One Hundred Views of Edo," the eastern part of the capital was a bustling commercial and cultural hub.
Seeing those districts now, nearly 150 years since he worked on his masterpiece, however, requires a vivid imagination to conjure up its past glory.
But an embryonic experiment is afoot to see whether eastern Tokyo has the potential to become a cultural zone once again. To Sunday, select districts are playing host to Tokyo Designer's Block Central East, an event involving the works of some 40 artists and designers displayed in vacant buildings, on walls and along underground passages.