Edo period fire tower

In Japan each parcel of land is valuable, so even in the best preserved historical locations, the constructions that were left without any use were demolished. That's why we cannot find anymore the old style fire towers, which were very common in the Edo period, about one for every ten parcels.

Made of wood, these towers were about 10 meters tall, having on top an observation platform fitted with a bell. Photographed here is a reconstruction erected inside the Osaka Museum of Housing and Living, one of the very few places were such old structures can still be seen...