Exploring Japanese Landmarks in Nishiki-e and Photographs

Azuma-bashi Bridge

An Azuma-bashi Bridge still exists in the same location today. The bridge was built in 1774, when 6 townspeople received permission from the Edo Shogunate government. During the Edo Period, there were 4 bridges across the Sumida-gawa River, the Ryogoku-bashi, Eitai-bashi, Azuma-bashi and Shin-ohashi bridges, however the three bridges other than the Azuma-bashi Bridge were all constructed by the Shogunate government. The origin of the name is either because it ran east from Edo or was in the east of Edo so it was called "Azumabashi" ("東橋", using different kanji characters meaning "east bridge") which was then rendered as the more popular and more elegant "吾妻橋" characters. It officially came to be named using the characters "吾妻橋" (Azuma-bashi) in 1876.