Diary in Google Translate (Extra)Water capital Edo Bridge (1) Nihonbashi Bridge

I thought of the bridge of the water capital Edo as Prague became an important trading route between Western and Eastern Europe due to the construction of the Charles Bridge.

 

Edo (Tokyo) in the Edo era was built by the first shogun who opened the Edo Shogunate: Tokugawa Ieyasu, and by means of a waterway network, rivers and waterways travel deep into the land like meshes, and various ships carry people and goods. It was a bustling city suitable for being called the “water capital”.

 

In addition, the place where goods are unloaded at each wharf is called "Kashi", and a warehouse district, wholesale district, and market were built, and many people worked there.

 

In this way, the town of Edo prospers around the waterways and develops into a lively and vibrant city where more than one million residents and workers work, and Nihonbashi, which is the center of the city, has developed into a commercial city. There was a lively fish market on the banks of the Nihonbashi River flowing through the center.

 

There is a picture scroll called "The Kidai Shoran Scroll" that depicts the vibrant neighborhood of Nihonbashi.

 

This picture scroll was discovered in Germany in 1999 and is attracting attention as a valuable source of information on Edo culture, but it is now owned by the Berlin Asian Art Museum.

 

Fortunately for us, however, we can know the situation at that time in the recently published English version of "The Kidai Shoran Scroll--TOKYO STREET LIFE IN THE EDO PERIOD".

 

So, here, from the picture scroll, I would like to recall the vitality of the water capital Edo from the scene of the Nihonbashi Bridge over the Nihonbashi River. 

 

References:“The Kidai Shoran Scrollk--TOKYO STREET LIFE IN THE EDO PERIOD”

      Authors: Ozawa Hiromu   Kobayashi Tadashi

               Publishing Foundation for Culture and Industry Promotion

 

 

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カレル橋の建造でプラハが西欧と東欧の交易ルートとして重要な地位を占めるようになった事から水都江戸の橋を連想しました。

 

江戸時代の江戸(東京)は、江戸幕府を開いた初代将軍:徳川家康により整備された水路網により、川や水路が網目のように陸内深くまで巡り、人や物資を運ぶ様々な船で賑わう、“水都”と呼ばれるにふさわしい街でした。

 

また、それぞれの埠頭で物資が荷下ろしされる場所は「河岸(かし)」と呼ばれ、倉庫街、問屋街、市場が造られて多くの人々が働いていた。

 

こうして江戸のまちは水路周辺を中心に栄え、百万人以上の住民と労働者が働き暮らす賑やかで活気あふれる街へと発展し、取り分け中心地の日本橋は商業の街として大きく発展し、街の中心を流れる日本橋川の河岸には活気のある魚市場がありました。

 

そんな活き活きとした日本橋界隈を描いた『熈代勝覧』(The Kidai Shoran Scroll)という絵巻があります。

 

この絵巻は1999年にドイツで発見され江戸の文化を知る上で貴重な資料として注目されていますが、現在はベルリン国立アジア美術館が所蔵しています。

 

が、私たちには幸いなことに、最近刊行された英語版『熈代勝覧』“The Kidai Shoran Scroll ~TOKYO STREET LIFE IN THE EDO PERIOD”で当時の状況を知ることがが出来ます。

 

で、ここでは、絵巻の中から日本橋川にかかる日本橋ブリッジの場面から水都江戸の活況を偲びたいと思います。

 

 

引用文献:“The Kidai Shoran Scrollk~ TOKYO STREET LIFE IN THE EDO PERIOD”

      Authors: Ozawa Hiromu   Kobayashi Tadashi

             一般財団法人 出版文化産業振興財団