The Sumida River flowing through Adachi, Tokyo

The Sumida River (隅田川, Sumida-gawa) is a river which flows through Tokyo, Japan. It branches from the Arakawa River at Iwabuchi and flows into Tokyo Bay. Its tributaries include the Kanda and Shakujii rivers.

What is now known as the "Sumida River" was previously the path of the Arakawa, however towards the end of the Meiji era work was carried out to divert the main flow of the Arakawa to prevent flooding.

It passes through the following wards of Tokyo:

• Kita
• Adachi
• Arakawa
• Sumida
• Taito
• Kōtō
• Chūō

One of the many bridges over the Sumida

Culture

The noh play Sumidagawa, which the British composer Benjamin Britten saw while visiting Japan in 1956, inspired him to compose Curlew River (1964), a dramatic work based on the story.

The kabuki play, Sumidagawa--Gonichi no Omokage, is perhaps better known by the title Hokaibo, which is the name of the central character. This stage drama was written by Nakawa Shimesuke, and it was first produced in Osaka in 1784. The play continues to be included in kabuki repertoire in Japan; and it is also performed in the West. It was recreated by Heisei Nakamura-za in the Lincoln Center Festival in New York in the summer of 2007, with Nakamura Kansaburo XVIII leading the cast.¹

Literature

The poet Matsuo Bashō lived by the Sumida River, alongside the famous banana tree (Japanese: bashō) from which he takes his nom de plume.²

The Sumida River appears in a haiku by Issa from 1820:

spring peace--
a mouse licking up
Sumida River

Sumida bridges

The Sumida runs through Tokyo for 27 kilometers, under 26 bridges spaced at about one bridge per kilometer. Amongst these, the principal ones are:

• The Senju Ohashi or Senju Bridge, dating from 1921, replaced an earlier bridge initially constructed in 1594, which was for a long time the only bridge across the river.-- link to digitized image of Hiroshige's "Great Senju Bridge" (1875)

• The Sakura-bashi or Sakura Bridge, dating from 1985.--link to recent, digitized photograph of Sakurabashi

• The Kototoi-bashi or Kototoi Bridge, dating from 1928, was reconstructed at the location of the bridge which linked two nearby temples -- the Mimeguri-Jinja and the Matsuchiyama-shoden.-- link to recent, digitized photograph of Kototoi Bridge

• The Azuma-bashi or Azuma Bridge, dating from 1931, replaced the bridge which was first built in 1774. This bridge is closest to Asakusa Station and the Kaminari-Mon.-- link to digitized image of Meiji-era postcard featuring Azuma Bridge

• The Komagata-bashi or the Komagata Bridge, dating from 1927, takes its name from the Matsugata temple dedicated to Bato-Kanon.-- link to recent, digitized panorama photo of Komagata Bridge in foreground and Azuma bridge in background

• The Umaya-bashi or the Umaya Bridge, dating from 1929, replaced a bridge built in 1875.

Katsushika Hokusai published this view of the Ryōgoku-bashi as an ukiyoe print.

* The Ryōgoku-bashi or Ryōgoku Bridge, dating from 1932, replaced a bridge built in 1659. This bridge was immortalized many times by Hiroshige.

• The Shin Ohashi or the New Bridge, dating from 1976, replaced a bridge built in 1693. This bridge was not far from the Ryōgoku Bridge.³-- link to recent, digitized photograph of Shin Ohashi Bridge

• The Kiyosu-bashi or the Kiyosu Bridge, dating from 1938, links Kiyosu with Nihonbashi-Nakasu.-- link to recent, digitized photograph of Kiyosubashi Bridge

View of the Nihon-bashi at dawn, a ukiyoe print by Hiroshige

* The Nihon-bashi or Nihon bridge, dating from the 1600s, was the bridge at which the Naksendō and Tōkaidō terminated (or the place from which they were said to have begun) during the Edo period. In those days, this bridge was called the Edo-bashi or Edo Bridge.

• The Eitai-bashi or Eitai Bridge, dating from 1924, replaces a bridge built in 1696.⁴-- link to digitized, pre-war photo-postcard of Eitai Bridge
  

  

  The Kachidoki-bashi lit at night.

• The Chuo Ohashi or the Chuo Bridge, dating from 1994, is the most recently built of the bridges across the Sumida. See photo here

• The Tsukuda Ohashi or Tsukuda Bridge, dating from 1964 ⁵, was the first bridge built after World War II, crossing the river from Tsukiji to Tsukishima.

• The Kachidoki Ohashi or Kachidoki Bridge was constructed in 1940 for the commemoration of the victory of the Japanese army at Lushun during the Russo-Japanese War. This bridge is the only drawbridge on the Sumida, and has not been raised since 1970.-- link to recent, digitized photograph of Kachidoki Bridge

The mouth of the Sumida River (facing southwest) enters the Tokyo Port region of Tokyo Bay. The bridge visible is the Kachidoki Bridge (Kachidoki Ohashi). To the left (east) of the river is the lower portion of Tsukishima (island neighborhood): the two twin towers on the island are The Tokyo Towers, a condominium complex. Further to the left (east) is the blue smokestack of the Chuo Incineration Plant on Harumi Island. On the top left horizon is Odaiba. To the right (west) is the Tsukiji neighborhood, with the famous Tsukiji fish market visible to the right of and behind the reddish building (it is the shape of a quarter-circle). The large garden behind the market are the Hamarikyu Gardens. The coffee-colored building to the right of Tsujkiji market (with the slanting bottom) is the headquarters of the Asahi Shimbun. The collection of modern skyscrapers immediately behind the Asahi Shimbun make up the Shiodome area; and behind those towers is the top of Tokyo Tower.

References

• Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō (1652)]. Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland....Click link for digitized, full-text copy of this book (in French)

External links

• National Archives of Japan ...Click link for photograph of re-built Ryogoku bridge (1875)
• National Archives of Japan ...Click link for photograph of re-built Azumabashi Bridge (June 1876)
• New York Public Library Digital Gallery ...Color woodcut print of "Pleasure boating on the Sumida River", c. 1788-1790

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Sumida River

Coordinates: 35°43′07″N 139°48′26″E / 35.71861, 139.80722