The 41st viewof Utagawa Hiroshige’s “100 Famous Views of Edo” is Ichigaya Hachiman shrine. Here is the original picture.
Similarly, looking northeast from the Ichigaya Bridge towards Ichigaya Hachiman, this is the view you get today.
The Ichigaya Bridge, which crosses the outer moat, was a strategic point for traffic in front of the Edo-era Ichigaya Gate, and even today it remains one of the key points for traffic in the city center. In the photo, the radio tower in the Ministry of Defense’s Ichigaya district is the most prominent feature, but if you don’t get in the way of the buildings, you should be able to see the Ichigaya Kameoka Hachimangu shrine, which is the origin of the name of the original painting, “Ichigaya Hachiman”.
I was lucky to be able to include the cherry blossoms in the composition, even if it was the edge of the moat rather than the approach to the shrine.
Now, when you think of Ichigaya, what kind of scenery comes to mind?
It will be different for each person, but for me, it’s this, the Ichigaya fishing pond.
On this day, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, so they looked very beautiful, but usually they are quite plain, or rather, they have a mysterious appearance.
It has been there for a long time, and you can see it clearly from the platform at Ichigaya Station, so I think many people have seen it at least once. Perhaps because it is an impressive scene of a fishing pond that is out of place in the city center, it has also been used as a location for many films and TV dramas.
The official name of the facility seems to be the Ichigaya Fish Center.
Also, next to it is this mysterious two-tone-colored bridge that has also been there for a long time.
This is a bridge that crosses the outer moat and carries a water pipe. You can see the steel pipeline in the photo too.
I thought of the waterway bridge and did a little research. There is ”Suidobashi(Waterway Bridge)” Station two stops away from JR Ichigaya Station, and it is said that the aqueduct bridge that crosses the outer moat (Kanda River) is the origin of the name, but it seems that the bridge no longer exists. I see, I was able to obtain the trivia that the current active waterway bridge is not in “Waterway Bridge”, but in Ichigaya.
Location of the “100 Views” photo shoot
![広重名所江戸百景 望月義也コレクション [ 望月義也 ]](https://thumbnail.image.rakuten.co.jp/@0_mall/book/cabinet/0032/9784772610032.jpg?_ex=128x128)
