Nihonbashi

The Stone Arch Bridge at Japan's Road Zero Point

The Nihonbashi (日本橋, Nihonbashi) is a two-span stone arch bridge completed in 1911 over the Nihonbashi River between Nihonbashi 1-chome and Nihonbashi Muromachi 1-chome in Chuo City, Tokyo, which in 1999 was designated an Important Cultural Property.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs identifies it as the starting point of Japan's national highways. It is 49 metres long and 28 metres wide, with arches spanning 21 metres. It belongs to the national government (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) and was designated for excellent design and technique.

Chuo City notes that the Tokyo City road origin marker, moved from the middle of the bridge to the plaza at its northwest end when the streetcars were withdrawn in 1967, is designated with it.

Design and Structure

The Agency credits the design to Yonemoto Shinichi and the decoration to Tsumaki Yorinaka. Chuo City calls it a masterpiece of ornamental bridge building by civil engineers, architects and sculptors working together.

Chuo City notes a flattened arch with a low rise, with granite facing on the abutments and pier and a core filled with brick and concrete to bear heavy loads. Pile driving and jacking techniques were brought in from Europe and America, and the bridge opened after only four years in four stages of work.

As a key crossing, it was built 15 ken (about 27 metres) wide: a 10-ken roadway with a streetcar track 17 shaku (about 5 metres) wide down the centre, and footways of 2.5 ken (about 4.5 metres) on each side. Chuo City gives about 27 metres, while the Agency records a width of 28 metres.

What to Look For: Bronze Kirin and Lions

The Agency notes that all the decorative work is bronze. Obelisk-shaped posts with flower-shaped lamps stand at the centre of the bridge and at its four corners, each with a crouching kirin on its base: a blend of Japanese, Chinese and Western ornament set on a Renaissance-style bridge.

Chuo City describes lions holding the Tokyo City crest, flower lamps with jewel and lantern finials, and posts carved with lion masks and pine and hackberry crests. Lion masks also decorate the keystones of the arches, so the bridge presents a formal face to the river as well.

The Bridge Today and Visiting

Chuo City notes that the Inner Circular Route of the Metropolitan Expressway runs above the bridge. Opened the year before the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the elevated road is now being moved underground along the Nihonbashi section, with completion planned for 2040.

The Nihonbashi is still a road bridge and can be crossed on foot at any time, with the kirin and lions close at hand from the footways. Questions about the cultural property can be sent to the Chuo City local history museum, 03-3551-2167.