During the Edo period, the land on the other side of the Sumida River was inhabited by townspeople and the lower ranks of aristocracy. While Honjō held the houses of retired aristocrats, Fukagawa was a place for the common man. It was the site of the official bamboo and lumberyards, and seems to have been a rather desolate area. As an open and spacious zone close to water, the area fell victim to the Meiji government's development plans. Small factories were established and it became a major industrial zone. It was completely destroyed by the Great Kantō Earthquake in 1923, rebuilt and again and systematically flattened by the allied bombardment.

Some places more or less retained their rustic beauty. People still came to promenade under the cherry trees on the banks of the Sumida River, and every year a great crowd gathered for the traditional river festival by the Ryōgoku Bridge. It was home to Tokyo's sumo stables and remained the center for sumo until the Second World War.