#077 Kyobashi, Bamboo Stockyard

The 77th scene of Utagawa Hiroshige’s“100 Famous Views of Edo” is Kyobashi Bamboo Grove. The original picture is here.

During the era of the great artist Hiroshige, Edo’s city center apparently had significant demand for bamboo for New Year’s decorations, Tanabata decorations, bamboo fences, and such. Bamboo wholesalers gathered in this area, creating a unique atmosphere along the canals.

I went to the site and tried a futile attempt to see if I could get it even a little closer to the original painting, but it was hopeless. Sorry, this is how it turned out.

First, due to various circumstances, I couldn’t go take photos at night. Second, the Kyōbashi bridge no longer exists (it was called “Kyōbashi” because it was the first bridge crossed heading from Nihonbashi toward Kyoto on the Tōkaidō road. Did you know that?). Not only has the moat beneath the bridge disappeared, but the area above is now covered by an elevated highway, making it impossible to recreate the original painting. Shooting the current scene with a wide-angle lens results in this.

Looking at the map, the old place name “Takegashi” seems to remain in this area, but the scenery has changed dramatically. The current streetscape looks like this.

Nowadays, Kyobashi is probably recognized as the town name at the northern end of what’s commonly called “Ginza.” Indeed, if you look south, you can see the exclusive streetscape of Ginza Central Avenue stretching out.