120419-0041 - Opening of First Railway

A crowd watches Emperor Meiji leave the Imperial Palace through the Saiwaibashi Gate (幸橋御門) in Tokyo on the official opening day of Japan’s first railway on October 14, 1872 (Meiji 5) when the emperor made a round-trip between Shinbashi and Yokohama stations.

Published in The Illustrated London News on December 7, 1872 (Meiji 5).

Original text: “Precession at the Saiwai Bashi Gate, Jeddo (sic).”