In a previous article, I folowed Hiroshige’s steps in 5 of its 100 famous places of Edo, trying to discover if there are in Tokyo places that still look like they did in the old Edo?
Today I’m continuing this journey with another five places, using again as historical source the ukiyo-e paintings:
1. Shimbashi Station - similarity degree: good (considering the museum)
The Shimbashi Station is one of the oldest train stations in Tokyo, opened in 1872, several years after the end of the Edo period (1868). It was the terminal station of the first Japanese railway, the Tokaido Main Line.
Hiroshige III - Tokyo Famous Places - Steam Train at Shimbashi Stationimage via Wikipedia
The building was destroyed in 1923 by the Great Kanto Earthquake and the station location was shifted towards west, the place of today’s Shimbashi Station.
However, in 1991 the Japanese government decided to rebuild the original Shimbashi Station, exactly on the original site. The building was opened in 2003 and today it hosts a small railway museum and a restaurant:
Old Shimbashi Station Historic Site
2. Higashi-Honganji Temple, Asakusa - similarity degree: fair
The Higashi-Honganji Temple from Asakusa, the most important temple of the Buddhist Sect Jōdo Shinshū Higashi Hongan-ji, was built over 400 years ago. It was destroyed many times by fire, but the image of Amida Nyorai, which dates from 1609, somehow miraculously survived.
The present day building was rebuilt in 1939, after the Great Kanto Earthquake, being the first Buddhist Temple in Japan built of concrete.
Asakusa Higashi-Honganji Temple
We can still compare the wooden roof ornaments, represented into one of the best known Hiroshige paintings, “Asakusa Hongan-ji temple in the Eastern capital” (part of the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series):
Hiroshige - Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji - Asakusa Hongan-ji temple in the Eastern capitalimage via Wikipedia
The ornaments are not identical to the ones from the Hiroshige’s painting, but we can see a strong resemblance:
Asakusa Higashi-Honganji Temple
3. Shohei Bridge and Seido Hall, Kanda - similarity degree: poor
The Yushima Seido Temple was built in 1630 by the Confucian monk Hayashi Razan. In 1690, the temple was moved by the Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi in Kanda, on its current location.
Hiroshige - One Hundred Famous Views of Edo - Shohei Bridge and Seido Hall by the Kanda Riverimage via Wikipedia
The Shohei Bridge was built around 1640. Of course, the area changed a lot, especially after the construction of the railway, but the Shohei Bridge still exists (the one colored in burgundy):
Shohei Bridge, Kanda River
On the left we can see the boundary walls of the Yushima Seido Temple and, hidden in greenery, we can see the temple’s roof.
Click on photo for higher resolution:
4. Tsukuda Island, Eitai Bridge - similarity degree: none
The Tsukishima Island is an artificial island, made by using the earth excavated from the Tokyo Bay shipping channel, at the end of the Edo period, in 1872.
An interesting fact, the name Tsukishima, which translates as “Moon island", was originally written with the kanji meaning “constructed island". The northern area of the island is called Tsukuda.
During the Edo period, the island was mainly used for iron-working.
Hiroshige - One Hundred Famous Views of Edo - Tsukuda Island from Eitai Bridgeimage via Wikipedia
There is still a chanrming old neighborhood located on the island, but the Eitai bridge is no longer visible, masked by a group of very large apartment buildings.
Eitai Bridgeimage via Wikipedia
Click on photo for higher resolution:
5. Zojo-ji Temple, Shiba - similarity degree: excellent
The Zojo-ji Temple, founded in 1393, was moved to the present day location by the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1598, becoming a temple of the Tokugawa family.
The wooden gate called Sangedatsumon, located on the left side of this ukiyo-e painting, was built in 1622, and it is a spectacular structure, 21 meters tall and 28.7 meters wide:
Hiroshige - One Hundred Famous Views of Edo - Shimmei Shrine and Zojo Temple in Shibaimage via Wikipedia
The Zojo-ji complex was destroyed by the World War II bombings, but the Sangedatsumon gate miraculously survived, and it is the same structure we can admire today, looking exactly like it was during the Edo period:
Zojo-ji Temple Sangedatsu Gate
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