"CULTURAL ATLAS OF JAPAN" ASAKURA SYOTEN		In the 23rd year of the Meiji Period, a twelve-story tower called 'Ryounkaku' was built in Asakusa. This building, said to have been modeled on the Eiffel Tower, must have been a showcase for the newest science, technology and cultural trends, with an elevator, a corner for trying out the telephone between the first and the twelfth story, concerts of Western music, beauty contests, etc. To commemorate the sunrise on New Year's Day in the twenty-fourth year of the Meiji Period, an event was organized in which hundreds of balloons with telephone tickets and tower tickets were sent up. Only one person showed up with a ticket, and it was rumored that the other tickets had been torn to pieces when people scrambled for them.

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