Official
Rinko Monument and the Path of the Emperor's Tour
The Rinko Monument stands quietly on Hamacho Riverside Street along the Sumida River, behind Nihonbashi Junior High School in Higashinihombashi. It was built in 1930 to commemorate the visit of Chiyoda Hirone Elementary School (now Nihonbashi Junior High School) at this location when Emperor Showa visited the city of Tokyo, which was rebuilt after the Great Kanto Earthquake. Also, the street that Emperor Showa passed is now called "Miyuki-dori".
From the Edo era to the Meiji era, Yagenbori entered from the Sumida River, a former Yanagibashi was built, and it is also a place where famous painters such as Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kiyochika drew many ukiyo-e paintings. Now there are few people, and it is a bit surprising that the emperor was cruising this place away from the center of Nihonbashi.
What route did the Emperor stop by at this Emperor's Imperial Palace cruise? Why is Chiyoda Elementary School in Nihonbashi in the first place, but why is it named "Chiyoda"? I had a lot of interest, so I looked it up.
The path of the reconstruction of the Imperial City
Tokyo, which was severely damaged by the Great Kanto Earthquake on September 1, 1923, finally recovered in seven years, and a reconstruction ceremony was held on March 26, 1930. Prior to the ceremony, on March 24, Emperor Showa's Imperial Palace cruise was held to observe the reconstructed city.
This map is the route of the cruise at that time.
Source: Transition of "Memory of the Earthquake" and Exhibition Figure 4 Created by the author based on the "Teito Reconstruction Festival (1932)" pilgrimage route of the Imperial City Reconstruction Festival, Hiroyasu Takano (2010).
Emperor Showa departs from the main gate of the Imperial Palace (Miyagi), passes through Shimbashi from Hibiya Street, passes through Showa-dori, completed after reconstruction from the earthquake, passes through Kyobashi and Nihonbashi, and heads from Yasukuni Dori to the first stop-by point 2 "Kudan Sakagami Observation Deck". This is the route of the red arrow on the map.
The city is decorated with decorations to celebrate the reconstruction, and the photos show that many citizens gathered along the roadside to see the Emperor's car at a glance.
②After departing from "Kudan Sakagami Observation Station", cross the blue arrow route, 3 "Tokyo Prefectural Kogei School" (currently Bunkyo-ku), 4 Ueno Park (currently Taito-ku), Asakusa, cross Kototoi Bridge, and 5 "Sumida Park" 6 "Earthquake Chiyoda Memorial Hall" (currently Sumida-ku) and arrive at Asakusa Bridge, Kuramae Bridge.
The road from Kiyosugi-dori to Chiyoda Elementary School is the current Miyuki-dori, but the left photo shows the street at the time of the cruise, and Chiyoda Elementary School at the end of the street. The photo on the right shows the current Miyuki Street at the same angle.
According to records, Emperor Showa visited Chiyoda Elementary School for a break, arrived after 8 minutes at noon, stayed about an hour and a half, and left at 1:30 pm. The photo shows the arrival and welcome in the schoolyard.
Chiyoda Elementary School
Chiyoda Elementary School, which was the pilgrimage destination of the Emperor, was founded in Bakurocho in 1877. At first, the 11th elementary school Chiyoda school in Daiichi Junior High School District was established. Then, in 1910, it was relocated to the current location (currently Higashi Nihonbashi 1-chome), which is the landfill of Yagenbori.
The origin of "Chiyoda" seems to have been named after Chiyoda Castle because Emperor Meiji visited an elementary school in Bakurocho, but I did not know in detail. The Emperor often visited Chiyoda Elementary School to visit elementary schools even after the Meiji era.
Chiyoda Elementary School was damaged by the Great Kanto Earthquake, and a new school building was rebuilt in 1929 with a non-combustible structure of reinforced concrete. The Art Deco-style school building was three stories high, with rooftops and even observation deck. At that time, it was a building with a high-rise and elegant design.
From the rooftop of the school building facing the Sumida River, it is desired from the nearby Ryogoku Bridge, upstream and downstream bridges, from Koto-ku to Asakusa and Shitaya areas, and if you look east, you can see Nihonbashi, Kanda, and Marunouchi. Was. It seems to have been a good place to look at the reconstructed cityscape of Tokyo.
Emperor Showa, who left Chiyoda Elementary School, then crossed Cheongju Bridge, passed through the city of Fukagawa, entered Kyobashi Ward from Eitai Bridge, stopped at Tsukiji Hospital in 8 Tokyo, and returned to the Imperial Palace (Miyagi). .
Miyuki-dori has recently been improved, and the sidewalk has a calm atmosphere with street trees and benches. You can see the Sky Tree at the end of the street.
It may be fun to walk through this quiet area through Miyuki Street and think about the history of Edo-Meiji, such as Yagenbori, Moto Yanagibashi, and Imperial City Reconstruction Tour.
References and materials
Transition and Exhibition of "Memory of the Earthquake," Hiroyasu Takano (2010)
“Reconstruction Memorial” Hichimotohashi-ku, Tokyo (Hichimotohashi-ku, Tokyo, 1930)
The Imperial Household Agency Archives and the Emperor Showa Memorial Hall (2013), based on records of the Imperial Household Agency of the Great Kanto Earthquake.
Cabinet Office, “Report of Expert Study Group on Succession of Disaster Lessons (2008)