160306-0042 - Earthquake Reconstruction

Sukiyabashi Bridge (数奇屋橋) in Tokyo, ca. 1930 (Showa 5).

The first Sukiyabashi was built in 1629 to cross the outer moat of Edo Castle (江戸城外濠, Edojo Sotobori). Sukiya means tea ceremony room. At the time that the bridge was built, many retainers lived in this area whose duty it was to perform the tea ceremony for the Shogun.

The bridge was dismantled in 1929 (showa 4) and much of the material was used to build a new bridge (shown in this postcard) several hundred meters away.

In 1958 (Showa 33), the moat was filled in and the bridge vanished. Now, just a small memorial reminds of the bridge.

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

Following the Great Kanto Earthquake (Kanto Daishinsai) of September 1, 1923 (Taisho 12), 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.