Nihonbashi

Nihonbashi. Woodblock print by Hiroshige, c. 1833-1834

, also romanized as Nihombashi, is a business district of Chūō in Tokyo, Japan. The district grew up around the bridge of the same name. The bridge connects two sides of the Nihonbashi River. A series of bridges at the same site have had the same name since the 17th century.

Traditionally, all distances in Japan are measured from the centerpoint of the Nihonbashi Bridge. This custom began in the Edo period.

History

Marker at center of Nihonbashi

In the Edo period, the Nihonbashi Bridge was the start of Tōkaidō road which connected Edo and Kyoto. The earliest Nihonbashi Bridge was made of wood. It was completed in 1603. The current bridge is made of stone. It was completed in 1911.

In 2009, Nihonbashi was recognized as one of the 100 Landscapes of Japan which best show contemporary Japan and its culture in the Heisei period.

Timeline

• 1603 (Keichō 8): Wooden bridge built.
• 1605 (Keichō 10): The first official map of Japan was ordered with distances measured from Nihonbashi.
• 1911 (Meiji 44): Bridge was re-built using stone.

Nihonbashi Media

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  Nihonbashi Bridge, which gives the district its name

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  Ukiyo-e print of Nihonbashi by Keisai Eisen, c. 1836 (from The Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kiso Kaidō)

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  Nihonbashi, Tokyo 1946 - Allied Occupation Period 東京日本橋昭和26年

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  BankofJapanheadquartersinTokyo,Japan

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  Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi main store

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  Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower*Photographed by angaurits in March 2007

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  Nihonbashi Junior High School (中央区立日本橋中学校)

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  Kilometre zero is on the middle of the bridge.

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  Lion on the Nihonbashi Bridge

Related pages

• Nihombashi Station
• The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō
• List of the 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō

References

Nihonbashi, 1911

Other websites

Media related to Nihonbashi, Tokyo at Wikimedia Commons