160306-0037 - Earthquake Reconstruction

Umayabashi Bridge (厩橋) across the Sumidagawa River in Tokyo, ca. 1930 (Showa 5).

The first bridge at this location was completed in 1874 (Meiji 7). It replaced the paid ferry service.

The traditional Japanese-style wooden bridge was replaced by a steel bridge in 1893 (Meiji 26), which was finally opened in 1895 (Meiji 28).

The steel bridge was badly damaged during the Great Kanto Earthquake (Kanto Daishinsai) of September 1, 1923 (Taisho 12), and replaced in 1929 (Showa 4) by the bridge shown in this postcard.

Umaya means stable. The bridge was named after the packhorse stables that stood here during the Edo Period (1603–1868). The horses were used by the nearby rice warehouses.

From the postcard series The 16 Bridges of Tokyo (東京大十六橋).

Tokyo celebrated the official completion of its earthquake reconstruction in March 1930. As part of the project, hundreds of bridges were built or reconstructed.

This series appears to have been published to coincide with the celebration.