Official

December 9th is the anniversary of the great writer Soseki Natsume.
He was not born in the current Chuo-ku, nor did he have a house in the current Chuo-ku.
However, Nihonbashi often appears in his work!

"Rin Atsushi Tower" Then, when he lost his way in London, where he was studying, after hearing the way more than 20 times and finally returned to the boarding house, he said, `` It feels like a circle that a Gotemba rabbit suddenly threw out into the middle of Nihonbashi. "
In addition, Nihonbashi's vaudeville "Kihara-tei" will appear in "Sanshiro" and "Ment", and Shirakiya will also appear in the conversation in the famous "I am a Cat".

In such a case, there is a stone monument and guide engraved with "The Stage of Soseki Masterpiece" at COREDO Nihonbashi Annex Square.
In addition, there is a monument of the well of Meisui Shirakiya right next to it.
When the Tokyu Department Store Nihonbashi store, which succeeded Shirakiya, closed in 1999, this famous water also disappeared.
However, the Echizen Matsudaira family had pumped Asamizu every time until the Meiji Restoration because of this water, assuming that his illness had been cured, and I think that if there were still remaining, tourists coming to draw water would not stop. ^^

December 14, 1702 (old calendar) is the day when Yoshiko Ako performed the defeat of Kira's residence!
The Akaho Gishi Festival is held grandly at Ako City, Hyogo Prefecture and Sengakuji Temple in the neighboring Minato-ku.
There is no similar event in Chuo-ku, but there are some historical sites related to Ako Gishi, so I will briefly introduce it.

First, the site of Takumi Asanouchi's residence (Designated Cultural Property, Tokyo) in Akashicho.
He was promoted to entertain the Imperial Envoy in 1701, but was ordered to cut off Yoshio Kira, the role of guidance in Edo Castle.

Next is the Horibe Yasube Takeyuki Monument on the Hatchobori side of Kameshima Bridge.
Born in Echigo, he trained in swordsmanship in Edo and had enough skill to be called Shitenno in Horiuchi Dojo.
Recognized for his skill in swordsmanship, he was adopted by the Asano family retainer Yahee Horibe, and participated in the defeat of Kira's residence.

Furthermore, on the grounds of Tsukiji Honganji Temple, there is Shinroku Hazama Peace pagoda, who belonged to the Uramon Corps in the Battle of Kira's House.
There is a legend that when pulling from Kira's residence to Sengakuji, a spear tied to Kaneko was thrown into the fence of Tsukiji Honganji as his own memorial service.

I'm still studying about Chushingura, but I've written an article about Ako Gishi before.
This is a summary of what I saw and heard during an excursion to Hiroshima and neighboring Minato-ku.
If there is someone like me who has the image of "Chushingura seems to be somewhat difficult", please also take a look at [First Excursion Series] Yoshiko Ako who learns from wooden and Japanese sweets ^^
I hope you will be able to casually touch Chushingura through familiar things and get interested in it.♪

In addition, on the 120th anniversary of the birth of Japanese movies by the National Film Archive, you can watch the oldest surviving "Chushingura" movie (silent black and white (partially dyed) video, 50 minutes) shot around 1910-1915.
This is a work by the combination of Shozo Makino, the father of Japanese film, and Matsunosuke Onoe, the first star of Japanese films, and both Takumi Asano and Oishi built-in assistants are performed by Matsunosuke.
(Others, old images about Chuo-ku are featured in this article.)

On this day of 1904, Ousuke Hibi, the first managing director of Mitsukoshi Kimono Store in Nihonbashi, made a "Department Store Declaration", and Japan's first department store was born!
This department store later became the Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi main store that you all know.
(Reference: Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, Ltd., “Ayumi of Mitsukoshi”)

Senior correspondent Edamame, who summarizes Miguru Shrine, Mitsui Family, and Mitsukoshi in this article in an easy-to-understand manner.
Please take a look at it as well as sightseeing certification measures.♪

Sightseeing bus anniversary (December 15)
On this day of 1925, the first regular sightseeing bus in Japan, "Yuran Bus", started operation.
It is said that the course was from in front of the Imperial Palace to Ginza to Ueno.
Sightseeing by bus has become familiar now, but it has spread over the past 100 years!
(Reference: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism e-mail magazine No. 2007)

Paper Anniversary (December 16)
Eiichi Shibusawa, who contributed to the foundations of the modern Japanese economy, said, "The papermaking and printing business is the source of civilization," and explained the spread of books and newspapers, and the need for paper production suitable for mass printing. Was established.
This company later became Oji Paper Co., Ltd., which is a shareholder of Oji Holdings, headquartered in Ginza 4-chome.
(Reference: Oji Holdings “History”)

In addition, Eiichi Shibusawa's contribution in Chuo-ku can be found in monuments in Akashicho and Nihonbashikabutocho, in addition to the birthplace of the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Ginza 6-chome) and the birthplace of the shoe industry (Irifune 3-chome).
Click here for a past article about Eiichi Shibusawa.

Telephone Card Anniversary (December 23)
On this day of 1982, card-type public telephone No. 1 was installed in Sukiyabashi Park!
It seems that the color of the phone was green, which is easy to see when viewed with eyes.
I think that the number of people who have few opportunities to use telephone cards now is increasing, but the merit of the card type is that they can be called without coins, even when long-distance calls, You don't have to put coins continuously.
Then, when you insert a telephone card, the number of callables recorded on the card is displayed, and you can see the remaining amount and the estimated time of call.

As an aside, when I was forced to call Japan from a public phone in an environment where there was no radio wave of mobile phones while studying abroad, I had to call back because there was no change on the way, and I didn't know the remaining time of call, and I had a lot of memories of running out in the middle of the pending sound (laughs).
Therefore, I think that the importance of the existence of telephone cards is more important than people in the same generation ^^
(Reference: NTT Technical Archives “Original Paper Crafts”)

This is not an anniversary, but if you say December 25 in Chuo-ku, wouldn't it be Japan's first public telecommunications business start date that made a great contribution to Civilization and enlightenment?
In the Chuo-ku-October edition at that time to know on an anniversary, we introduce the episodes of the previous stage.

The event on December 25 is also engraved on the "Telegraph Creation Land Monument" in Akashicho, so don't miss it when you walk around the town with certification measures.♪