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Chuo-ku Railway Monogatari <Part 4> "Disappearing Station Name"

[Shitamachi Tom] January 25, 2012 08:30

This is the fourth talk about railways in Chuo-ku today.
This time, I will change my viewpoint a little and explore the name of the station that is no longer available.


Toei Nihonbashi Station Signpost _R.JPG

 First of all, it is Nihonbashi Station on the Toei Asakusa Line. The entrance of the station is located on Showa-dori. It is connected to the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line and Tozai Line through the underground passage, but compared to the two stations with bustling locations such as [Takashimaya] and [Cored Nihonbashi], the station on the Asakusa Line feels a little calm and quiet.


Exit of Toei Nihombashi Station _R.JPG


It should be that, in the first place, [Nihonbashi] station on Asakusa Line was another station. When the Asakusa Line (which was called "Toei Line 1" at the time of opening) opened in 1963 (Showa 38), it was [Edobashi] station.

Certainly, there is "Edobashi" right next to it, and I feel that it is more straightforward as a station name.pencil


Near Edobashi _R.JPG Since then, it was renamed Nihonbashi in 1989 for the purpose of uniting, due to an increase in the number of passengers connecting with Tokyo Metro (at that time, "Mitsui Subway").

By the way, the station name [Edobashi] is located in Tsu City, Mie Prefecture as a Kintetsu station station. It's strange that the station name that disappeared from Tokyo now exists far away.


Another station that existed in Chuo-ku is [Nishi Ginza] station.

The Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line runs only a little in Chuo-ku. It's just near Sukiya Bridge. There is an entrance to [Ginza] station on the Marunouchi Line at the intersection of Sukiyabashi, where [Hankyu Men's Museum] and [Lumine] are recently renovated and bustling [Yurakucho Marion] stands out in front of you, but this is exactly the past [Nishi Ginza] station.subway  

Marunouchi Line Ginza Station _R.JPG


When the Marunouchi Line opened in 1957 (Showa 32), it started as a [Nishi Ginza] station. It seems that there was already a [Ginza] station on the Ginza Line, and it was a little far away. 


Later, when the Hibiya Line was opened in 1964 (Showa 39), the station on the Marunouchi Line was renamed [Ginza] along with the opening of [Ginza] station on the same line. [Nishi Ginza] was a naming for just under 7 years.


Sukiyabashi Intersection _R.JPG

Even today, the name "Nishi Ginza" remains in the shopping mall under the elevated expressway.

One of the popular songs sung by Frank Nagai is "Nishi Ginza Station". This song written by Takao Saeki and composed by Tadashi Yoshida is a modern song that begins with "ABC XYZ". It was launched in 1958 (Showa 33), the dawn of Japan's high economic growth. Along with "Let's meet in Yurakucho", which was released the previous year and became a big hit, surely the atmosphere around here was filled with a new sense.note 


 Nishi Ginza Arcade _R.JPG

Including the abolished Toden station name (electric stop name), there were various names in the ward. For example, tasteful names such as [Mihara Bridge] and [Echizenbori] seem to see the scenery.eye

 

This time, I looked back on the post-war history of Chuo-ku, taking advantage of the two disappearing stations of the subway. Did you have a little nostalgic feeling? 


 Next time, I would like to deliver an episode related to railways. Thank you very much.cat