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Do you know? "Chuo-ku" depicted on passport
Hello. I'm Hanes, an active correspondent.
This year, I decided to go abroad for the first time in a long time, so I raised my heavy waist and went to renew my expired passport.
At first glance, the issued passport seems to be the same as the old one, but when I actually turned around the visa page, I noticed that the design had been renewed without knowing it.
As you may already know, a new passport was introduced in early February 2020, and Katsushika Hokusai's "Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji" work was adopted for its design.
When I searched for a place in Chuo-ku, I found "Edo Nihonbashi"!
However, it is not a composition that can be easily understood as Nihonbashi.
So what does this show that the stage of the work is Nihonbashi?
Source: National Diet Library “Famous Places of Edo with Nishiki-e” (https://www.ndl.go.jp/landmarks/)
The answer is the crowds of people who come and go with giboshi on the bottom of the picture.
During the Edo period, only three bridges, Nihonbashi, Kyobashi and Shimbashi, which were authoritative bridges under the direct control of the Shogunate, were giboshi.
Among them, Nihonbashi is particularly exceptional, and it is said that if the artist drew giboshi, everyone would think Nihonbashi.
The current 20th generation Nihonbashi is a two-piece stone arch bridge completed in 1911.
The bronze sculpture of Kirin and lions designed by architect Yorinaka Tsumaki has a strong presence, but the Nihonbashi Originkikiki in Nihonbashi itself and on the west side of Minamizume Bridge includes the giboshi (recreated), a remnant of Nihonbashi when it was a wooden bridge.
In addition, a pile with giboshi (reproduced) can be found at the Nihonbashi Pier, which was completed under the bridge in 2011 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the current Nihonbashi Bridge.
The scenery seen from Nihonbashi has changed significantly compared to the Edo period when Katsushika Hokusai lived, but the giboshi (reproduced), a symbol of Nihonbashi, still remains everywhere.
The casual event of renewing my passport gave me the opportunity to appreciate the details of Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji.
In the future, I will try to find out if there is any relationship with Chuo-ku in a familiar place.