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Nihonbashi 日本橋 | |
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 Nihonbashi Street  Mitsui Headquarters  Nihonbashi Bridge, after which the area was named  Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi Flagship Store  Takashimaya Nihonbashi Flagship Store | |
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| Population (2019[1]) | |
• Total | 341 |
Nihonbashi[a] (日本橋 (にほんばし), also romanized asNihombashi[b]) is a business district ofChūō, Tokyo, Japan which sprung up around the bridge of the same name that has linked two sides of theNihonbashi River at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603. The current bridge, designed byTsumaki Yorinaka and constructed of stone on a steel frame, dates from 1911.[2] The district covers a large area to the north and east of the bridge, reachingAkihabara to the north and theSumida River to the east.Ōtemachi andYaesu are to the west andKyobashi to the south.
Nihonbashi, together with Kyobashi andKanda, is the core ofShitamachi,[3] the original downtown center of Edo-Tokyo, before the rise of newer secondary centers such asShinjuku andShibuya.
The Nihonbashi district was a majormercantile center during theEdo period: its early development is largely credited to theMitsui family, who based their wholesaling business in Nihonbashi and developed Japan's firstdepartment store,Mitsukoshi, there. The Edo-era fish market formerly in Nihonbashi was the predecessor of theTsukiji andToyosu Markets.Yamamotoyama began as a tea house here in 1690.
In later years, Nihonbashi emerged as Tokyo's (and Japan's) predominant financial district.
The Nihonbashi bridge first became famous during the 17th century, when it was the eastern terminus of theNakasendō and theTōkaidō, roads which ran betweenEdo andKyoto. During this time, it was known asEdobashi, or "Edo Bridge." In theMeiji era, the wooden bridge was replaced by a larger stone bridge, which still stands today (a replica of the old bridge has been exhibited at theEdo-Tokyo Museum). It is the point from which all distances are measured to the capital;highway signs indicating the distance to Tokyo actually state the number of kilometres to Nihonbashi.
The area surrounding the bridge was burned to the ground during the massiveMarch 9–10, 1945 bombing of Tokyo, considered the single largest air raid in history. Despite careful maintenance and restoration, one area of the bridge still has scars burned into the stone from an incendiary bomb. It is one of the few traces left from the fire bombing that leveled most of Tokyo.
Nihonbashi was a ward ofTokyo City. In 1947, when the 35 wards of Tokyo were reorganized into 23, it was merged withKyōbashi to form the modern Chuo ward.
Shortly before the1964 Summer Olympics, anexpressway was built over the Nihonbashi bridge, obscuring the classic view ofMount Fuji from the bridge.[5] In recent years, local citizens have petitioned the government to move this expressway underground. This plan was endorsed by Prime MinisterJunichiro Koizumi in 2005, and theTokyo Metropolitan Government andMinistry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced in 2017 that they would begin a detailed study of the project, with a goal of beginning construction following the2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[6] The operator of theShuto Expressway received approval for construction in May 2020, which will relocate 1.8 kilometers of the expressway underground between Kandabashi and Edobashi Junctions.[7] Construction has commenced and is expected to be completed in fiscal year 2041.[8]
Nihonbashi (日本橋)
Hakozakicho (箱崎町)
Honcho (本町)
Muromachi (室町)
In the late 1990sGeoCities Japan was headquartered in the Nihonbashi Hakozaki Building in Hakozakicho.[22] At one timeCreatures Inc. had its headquarters in the Kawasakiteitoku Building (川崎定徳ビル,Kawasakiteitoku Biru) in Nihonbashi.[23]
Public elementary and junior high schools are operated by Chuo City Board of Education (中央区教育委員会). Jōtō Elementary School (中央区立城東小学校) and Nihonbashi Junior High School (中央区立日本橋中学校) are the zoned public schools of the Nihonbashi District.[24]
As the starting point for thefive routes of theEdo period, Nihonbashi provided easy access to many parts throughout ancient Japan.
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35°41′02″N139°46′28″E / 35.68389°N 139.77444°E /35.68389; 139.77444
