#009 Sujikai 8-way intersection

The 9th of ‘Utagawa Hiroshige: 100 Famous Edo Views’ is Sujikiuchi Yatsukoji(8-way intersection). The original print is here.
The Sujikai-mitsuke is the castle gate and Sujikai-bridge established at the place where the northern main roads connect the Edo city center. The bridge was called “Sujikai” because the road from Edo Castle to Ueno and the road from Nakasendo crossed on the north side of the bridge. The original title “Sujikai-nai” means “Inside the Sujikai gate” so the procession of lords in the foreground is probably about to leave the gate and head down the Nakasendo.

The reason why the inside of the gate looks like a large vacant lot is because this is a “fire-suppression vacant lot” built after the Great Meireki Fire. I was a little impressed by the disaster prevention policy that existed even in the Edo period when I learned about it through a cursory study. So it is called “Yatsukoji(8-way intersection)” because the roads from various places are united there.

Since the Sujkai Bridge does not exist now, I decided to use the area as Yatsukouji where roads and railroad tracks intersect at the south end of the Mansei Bridge, which was built a little to the east in later years,
This photo was taken from the ground under the elevated JR line, so it bears no resemblance to Hiroshige’s overhead view, but I used a wide-angle lens to at least try to capture the feeling of a wide sky.It is quite interesting to see the Change of Sujikai Bridge, Shohei Bridge, and Mansei Bridge, which have been replaced many times since the Edo period while changing their positions and names in this area of the outer moat. If you are interested, please read the link.

The figure in the right foreground of the photo is the back end of the line of people who want to eat the Chinese noodle “PAR-KO-MEN” of the famous restaurant “Niku no Mansei” here. I wonder if I would have had a chance to take a bird’s eye view if I had stood in line for the noodle and walked up to the upper floor of the Mansei building and boldly leaned against the window….

In the photo above, the JR elevated railway line blocks the view on the left, but the old brick elevated railway line runs parallel from this area to Ochanomizu Station, and under the elevated railway line is a restaurant area with a nice atmosphere called BRICK MALL. It is still early in the morning, so the stores are not yet lit, but here is a shot taken over the parapet of the Mansei Bridge.

The Kanda, Ochanomizu, and Akihabara areas have a lot of “under the elevated railway” and “under the guard” areas because the elevated lines of the JR Yamanote, Chuo, and Sobu lines run in a convoluted manner. It may be said that this is one of the 100 sceneries of modern Tokyo, different from those of the Edo period. This is one of my personal favorites taken under a guard during my walk this time.