160306-0026 - Great Kanto Earthquake

The ruins of the Aioi Bridge (相生橋) at Tsukishima Island (月島) in Tokyo after the Great Kanto Earthquake (Kanto Daishinsai) of September 1, 1923 (Taisho 12). The mangled rails of the streetcar line clearly show the force of the quake and the resulting fire.

The bridge crossed the Sumidagawa River to connect Tsukishima in Chuo-ku with Etchujima (越中島) in Koto-ku. The photographer stood on the Tsukishima side and looked towards Fukagawa (深川).

The streetcar line on this bridge had just been completed in July, two months earlier.

As a result, Tsukishima was once again an island until 1926 (Taisho 15), when a new bridge was completed, actually the first bridge of Tokyo’s earthquake reconstruction project.

Original caption: 月島相生橋より深川方面の惨状