The east and west sides of Edo Bay are the Miura Peninsula and the Boso Peninsula, which means they are embraced by what would become the future Chiba and Kanagawa Prefectures. The bay extends nearly two hundred li from north to south, with the bay mouth spanning barely more than ten li—making it one of Japan's finest natural harbors.
In this era, Edo Bay has not yet become the giant cesspool it would be in later generations. The seawater is clear, the scenery rather picturesque—"The Great Wave off Kanagawa" depicts these very views. The fishery resources are also plentiful. As recorded in the "Edo Townspeople's Diary": The bounty of Edo Bay can sustain the Shogunate's granaries.
After 1603, the population here would swell to a million, with nearly a thousand commercial and fishing boats coming and going each day; it would become the most prosperous place in Japan.
