Official

Civilization and enlightenment's symbol "Ginza Brick Street" (collected by Edo Tokyo Museum)

It's when I went to see it.
On the way to the diorama I wanted, I passed in front of the full-scale model of the Asano Shimbun, which had a company building in Ginza during the Meiji era.
At that moment, I suddenly felt a strong sense of discomfort.

Full-scale model of the Asano Shimbun (collected by the Edo Tokyo Museum)

Where does this discomfort come from?…？
When I traced my memory, I came to think of one thing.
The "Brick Ginza Monument" stands about a 2-3-minute walk south of Chuo-dori from Kyobashi Station.

Brick Ginza Monument

At the foot of this brick Ginza monument, the technique of "French stacking" used in Ginza brick street is reproduced using excavated bricks.

The floor of the Brick Ginza Monument, which reproduces the French stacking
 

French stacking is a method in which bricks are stacked alternately with the long side (long side) and small side (short side) when stacking bricks. In addition, there are various stacking methods such as British stacking used in Tsukiji foreign settlements and small stacking (or German stacking) used at Tokyo Station, but speaking of Ginza brick street, it is all French stacking.

I was familiar with the bricks laid on the floor of the Brick Ginza Monument, and I thought that the sidewalks of the brick street in Meiji period were naturally piled up in France, but the bricks laid on the sidewalks of the Asano Shimbun model at the Edo Tokyo Museum were different from those of France. That was the cause of discomfort.

Bricks laid on the sidewalk of the full-scale Asano Shimbun (collected by the Edo Tokyo Museum)
 

So when I contacted the Edo Tokyo Museum, I received the following answer.
 
"French stacking is a method of alternately stacking long and small pieces of bricks on the same stage. This is a method used to pile bricks vertically, such as walls and walls of buildings.
On the other hand, when the sidewalk is laid with bricks, the bricks are arranged horizontally one by one. The purpose is different between stacking bricks and laying them, so a suitable method is used for each. Records and photos at that time confirmed that the sidewalk was bricked, but it was not clear how to lay the bricks. If it looks like "French stacking", it is necessary to cut the bricks that show small pieces in order to align the thickness. However, when making a wide surface like a sidewalk brick, the laying method called "horse stepping" reproduced with a model is considered to be an efficient and general laying method. Inferred from such a thing, we reproduce the sidewalk of the Asano Shimbun model. "
 
In other words, French stacking is not suitable for applying to sidewalks using a method used in architecture, and it is presumed that the sidewalk part of Ginza Brick Street adopted the method of laying horse trampling, which was common at the time.
I thought that the sidewalk of Ginza Brick Street in Meiji period was "layed" in French, but it seemed that it was a big mistake. Sweat
 
It was an event that I thought again to deepen my learning every day so as not to give the wrong information when I guided me as a volunteer guide.

■Brick Ginza Monument
〒1-11, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061
About a 2-minute walk from Exit 7 of Ginza 1-chome Station on the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line.
About a 2-minute walk from Exit 2 of Kyobashi Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line.
About 5 minutes on foot from Exit A13 of Ginza Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line.