The Center of Japan Nihonbashi Bridge

Wandering through the barren concrete buildings of Nihonbashi I came across something that warranted a stone marker.

Written in Japanese I could not tell you what it says. My guess is that it's a history of what it is next to.

Which is the actual Nihonbashi, which translates to Japan Bridge. Originally it was made of wood when first constructed in 1603 during Tokugawa's reign. The current steel frame and stone Renaissance style bridge was designed by architect Tsumaki Yorinaka and built during the Meiji era in 1911. It survived the WWII fire bombing yet there is still a mark somewhere on it from an incendiary bomb.

There is calligraphy by Tokugawa Yoshinobu at the base of these beasts. He was the last Shogun who passed away in 1913. In a way the new bridge symbolized the change from Edo to Tokyo.

The beast may look familiar. In Japan they are called Komainu. They are protectors meant to ward off evil spirits at shrines. Given their locations at the end of the bridge they could be thought of as sandō komainu 参道狛犬  or visiting road komainu. In this case they are protecting the commercial center of Tokyo and just beyond that the Imperial Palace.

Both the statues and lamps are made of bronze and are very detailed and striking. It's quite the surprise to see all this in a very modern area. Yes that is the Expressway covering the bridge and Nihonbashi River.

I don't know what the above lamp is made of. There must have been quite a fight to cover the most famous bridge in Japan with the Shuto Expressway like this. There is a reason why this specific lamp is placed where it is.

If you look at the back tire of the yellow truck you can see the center of Japan. All road kilometer measurements showing distance to Tokyo actually are showing the distance to this spot on the Nihonbashi Bridge. This practice began in the Edo era. The Gokaido, the five main roads leading to and from Tokyo, started here. The Expressway lamp is directly over the marker so people driving there can know when they have passed the center of Japan.

The sadly covered Nihonbashi River. It has been looked into what it would take to uncover at least the Nihonbashi Bridge by putting the Expressway under ground. Billions of yen and more. Not likely to happen in the near future.

This amazing looking dragon is a Qilin, a mythical creature with aspects of several animals including giraffes. Also called Kirin in Japan (which is the word for giraffe in Japanese) and the image of kirin are used by Kirin Beer. They are believed to be very powerful and great protectors which may be why they are on the bridge.

I apologize for not having better photos of the bridge. It was super hot and actually crowded when I arrived there. At least I have decent ones of the kirin.

The Nihonbashi Bridge (saying bridge twice helps to define it from the Nihonbashi area) is definitely worth checking out. Another site I hope I can see again when it's less hot and not so busy. Lots of cool photos online. Information there is interesting. Some give the name as originally being the Edo Bridge but it seems there may have been a second bridge near it that was actually the Edo Bridge. No matter what, it is definitely a great bridge.

Wandering through Nihonbashi

The morning of August 6th found me wandering through the streets of Nihonbashi. Even early on the temperatures and humidity were high. It was frustrating but I didn't fly all the way to Japan to sit in an uncomfortable hotel room. Not far from the hotel I found this shrine.

Later I discovered the name of the shrine is Kabuto. Which is the word for samurai helmet. I also didn't know while there that there is a rock shaped like a helmet there. Since there were a couple rocks there I don't know which one is the helmet one. But it did have nice lanterns.

The shrine is across from the Tokyo Stock Exchange and sits almost directly under an elevated road, the Metropolitan Expressway No. 6 Mukojima Route. What little information I could find about the shrine's history is in Japanese so not 100% of accuracy due to translation. It was set up in 1878 and a Shinto god of commerce, Kurainetamashiinochi 倉稲魂命, is enshrined there (basically the kami of the stock exchange). In 1927 the shrine was moved to the current position and the reinforced concrete was laid. There was more work done on the shrine in 1969. As for naming it helmet, there are stories that claim many years ago Minamoto no Yoshiie prayed for victory over the rock or that Taira no Masakado's helmet is buried here. Sadly real records were not kept so don't know if either story really happened.

What is interesting is the bridge right by Kabuto Shrine is called Yoroibashi. Which translates to Armor Bridge. The story behind the name is back in the 1000 era when there was no bridge and some samurai needed to be ferried across there was a storm. After praying the samurai took off their armor in order to not offend the dragon god of the sea and the storm dissipated. Once again, getting this from a translated site.

The first bridge here was built in 1872 of iron and later widened around 1920 to be used as a street car crossing. I could not find a date for when it was changed to the current bridge but possibly was done when the expressway was constructed here.

The Nihonbashi River covered over by that expressway. Sad to see this enclosed like this. At least it's not underground like other Tokyo rivers.

Taking a walk in the financial district of Tokyo. Parasols may block the sun but no way helped with the heat and humidity.

Yup, that is the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It was a Saturday which explains the absence of people.

Not far from there is the Yamani Securities 山二証券(株) Building. Built in 1936 in a Spanish style, part of the building is covered with terracotta Spanish tile. The architect was Nishimura Kotoki. If I didn't feel so cautious at the time I would have taken more photos. It's a remarkable building in an area with a lot of unremarkable construction.

Came across a Natural Lawson konbini. I had read about them a while ago and had wanted to check this out so I stopped in. Some rather high priced "natural" food products along with a lot of regular Lawson items. The natural part felt more like a gimmick to be honest.

Something more natural is this Pasona Group owned building. Pasona Group is a Japanese temporary employment company. In 2010 they took over the building and began to grow produce inside and  covered the exterior with plants. They even had a rice paddy in the lobby. Don't know if it is still there. While it's smaller than many of the buildings around it, and will be even more so once construction is done of a couple new buildings right by there, the green plants growing on it is refreshing in this sea of concrete.

Awning on the left is the back of Tokyo Station. I was regretting walking this far but since I was here...

I might as well go in. This looks familiar. The entrance that leads to Character Street. I was last here in March, 2011 when they were doing construction on the station. Click on that link for photos at that time. I wonder what it's like now.

Unlike 2011, Tokyo Station and Character Street was packed with people. I don't know if the Great Touhoku Disaster kept people away in 2011, but in August 2016 Character Street was very crowded.

Back out on the streets and struggling to return to my hotel. I spy this bit of artwork on Kokubu Group Corp building, The company wholesells food and more.

I have no idea as to the date of the street signs but note they say Edo and not Nihon.

This curious looking places is the Nihonbashi Diamond Building, of Mitsubishi Logistics Co., Ltd . It is an Edobashi warehouse building that was built in 1930. Originally it was six floors with a tower suggesting the appearance of a ship. They added the center high rise of 18 floors in 2014.

Back part of the building with windows that look like doors.

That's it for this excursion. While Nihonbashi by Tokyo Station isn't the most interesting area visually, there is one more thing there that is. That is the subject of my next post.

Koami Jinja Shrine in Nihonbashi

Imagine walking down a street one night and seeing this. I knew Koami Shrine was nearby but had not visited. I was on my way to Shinjuku but could not resist stopping here. It's so much prettier in person.

Koami Jinja is one of the more popular shrines in the area. Seeing it all lit up made it understandable why. This is the Kagura Hall.

Using paper lanterns for advertising is nicer than flashing signs.

Koami Jinja is another shrine that has so many different features. It's not know exactly when this area was considered sacred but it is assumed a monk lived here at least 1000 years ago. The worship of Koami Inari Daimyōjin began in 1466 when it was believed the god Inari helped save people here from a plague.

The shrine's site says the building did not survive the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 but many parts of the shrine were saved. The current building was built in the 1920's of cypress wood and did not completely burn down during the firebombing of WWII. Another site gives 1942 as the date the buildings were built but I would think the shrine's site would be more accurate.

The other main god worshipped here is Benzaiten, goddess of love, luck, the arts and flowing things like water and music. Her father was a dragon king and often she is depicted with a white dragon. So it's no surprise the chōzubachi at Koami has dragon spouts.

Really amazing dragon spouts. My photo does not do them justice. The eyes are inlaid with a different metal which gives the appearance that they might start moving.

The main shrine is also impressive with extraodinary wood carvings. I wish I had gone back during the day to take more photos. Next time I will try to do that.

One of the gorgeous wood carvings. A waterfall with a maple tree.

And up above two dragons. One descending.

One ascending.

These are hand carved and truly worth seeing if you are ever in the area. I wish my photos were better because there are so many detains on this shrine.

Koami Jinja is a popular Seven Lucky Gods shrine as you can tell by all the charms they have available.

The ema (prayer plaques) have Benzaiten's white dragon or the Seven Lucky Gods. Thinking of Benzaiten, often female entertainers would worship her. Given that Ningyocho was a major entertainment area it makes sense there would be a shrine like this here.

Some of the ema hung up with their prayers and wishes on them. Along with o-mikuji (fortunes). Usually people tie them up at a shrine when they receive a bad fortune. Koami's are unique in that they come in little silkworm cocoon mayudama. I don't know if they are real cocoons. So both are hung up in hopes that the gods will reverse the bad luck.

Koami Jinja is part of the Seven Lucky Gods pilgrimage in Nihonbashi. Besides Benzaiten there is also a statue of Fukurokuju. He is the god of happiness, wealth and longevity. Surrounding him are plaques of the other lucky gods.

A couple of the mayudama were hung on the small tree next to him. Perhaps people prayed to him to prevent the bad luck?

Benzaiten was officially enshrined here back in 1869 when the government separated Shinto shrines from Buddhist temples (shinbutsu bunri 神仏分離 began in 1868 under the Meiji Restoration). Given that people pray to her and Fukurokuju for wealth, it leads to the other reason this shrine is so popular. Money washing.

Benzaiten shrines have a water feature since she is a river kami or god. Koami has a small well (Zeni-arai-no-i). At the well and at this statute of Benzaiten people wash their coins in hopes that they will multiply. Since I didn't know about this before my visit I didn't wash money.

Koami Jinja is now one of my favorite shrines. Definitely worth seeing along with trying some of the food offered in the Ningyocho Nihonbashi area. Here is the website for the Koami Jinja Shrine.