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Ookawa riverbank, Azuma bridge and Skytree
Summer
This traditional shitamachi area is located along the banks of the Sumida river. From the eight bridges counted in Hiroshige times there are now 26 bridges spanning the water. Most of them are built in the 20th century, replacing historical wooden bridges. The image features passenger boat instead of the original fishermen’s ones and the Skytree as a new visible landmark.
Notes
Sumida river branches from the Arakawa river and flows for 23.5 km right through Tokyo, as the city’s most important waterway since the city became the capital of Japan at the start of the Edo period. The 1923 Great Kantō earthquake and the increase in traffic contributed to get sturdy steel bridges built over the river.