#008 Suruga-cho

This is “#008 Suruga-cho” of Utagawa Hiroshige’s 100 Famous Views of Edo.
The original work is here.

The current Nihonbashi-Muromachi, in Hiroshige’s time, was named Suruga-cho because of the beautiful view of Mt. Fuji from here, which made it look like the Suruga region. Since it was just a stone’s throw from Nihonbashi in the #001 view, I skipped a bit to the eighth view.

Unfortunately, the current Nihonbashi Muromachi does not offer a view of Mt. Here is a shot from the point where I think this must be the site.
In Hiroshige’s painting, you can see the Echigoya-Mitsui family crest lining the street, and even today, this is the corporate hub of the former Mitsui Zaibatsu. The massive stone column buildings on the right side of the photo are Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, and beyond them are the signboards of large corporations bearing the Mitsui name, such as Mitsui Fudosan Co. Incidentally, the building on the left is the main branch of Mitsukoshi Department Store Nihonbashi.

It is a magnificent street, but I was a little disappointed to find no trace of the Edo period (as a matter of course). Then, a corner of COREDO Muromachi mall nearby, was turned into an atmospheric presentation of what could be described as Hiroshige’s Suruga-cho.

Let’s take a horizontal shot of this area for the thumbnail.

Isn’t it quite nice?