is a business district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan which grew up around the bridge of the same name which has linked two sides of the

Nihonbashi River The is a river which flows through central Tokyo, Japan. It is a distributary river of the Kanda River and flows into the Sumida River near the Eitai Bridge. The river is in length and passes through Chiyoda and Chuo wards. The river was cre ...

at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603. The current bridge, designed by

Tsumaki Yorinaka was a Japanese architect and Head of the Japanese Ministry of Finance building section in the later Meiji period. Credited with the design of many significant Meiji era structures in Japan, notably the Nihonbashi Bridge. Early life and care ...

and constructed of stone on a steel frame, dates from 1911. The district covers a large area to the north and east of the bridge, reaching Akihabara to the north and the Sumida River to the east.

Ōtemachi is a district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is located north of Tokyo Station and Marunouchi, east of the Imperial Palace, west of Nihonbashi and south of Kanda. It is the location of the former site of the village of Shibazaki, the most a ...

is to the west and

Yaesu is a district in Chūō, Tokyo, Japan, located north of Ginza, west of Nihonbashi and Kyōbashi, and adjacent to the east side of Tokyo Station. The Yaesu exit of this station, which faces Nihonbashi, is recent and primarily provides access to ...

and Kyobashi to the south. Nihonbashi, together with Kyobashi and

Kanda Kanda may refer to: People * Kanda (surname) *Kanda Bongo Man (born 1955), Congolese soukous musician Places * Kanda, Tokyo, an area in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan **Kanda Station (Tokyo), a railway station in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo * Kanda River, a ri ...

, is the core of Shitamachi, the original downtown center of Edo-Tokyo, before the rise of newer secondary centers such as Shinjuku and

Shibuya Shibuya (wikt:渋谷, 渋谷wikt:区, 区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern ...

History

The Nihonbashi district was a major mercantile center during the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...

: its early development is largely credited to the

Mitsui family The is one of the most powerful families of merchants and industrialists in Japan. The Mitsui enterprise (present-day Mitsui Group) was established in 1673 when Mitsui Takatoshi (1622–1694), the son of merchant parents, established Echigoya, ...

, who based their wholesaling business in Nihonbashi and developed Japan's first

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

Mitsukoshi is an international department store chain with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. It is a subsidiary of Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, which also owns the Isetan department store chain. History It was founded in 1673 with the (shop name) , sell ...

, there. The Edo-era fish market formerly in Nihonbashi was the predecessor of the

Tsukiji Tsukiji (築地) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan. Literally meaning "reclaimed land", it lies near the Sumida River on land reclaimed from Tokyo Bay in the 18th century during the Edo period. The eponymous Tsukiji fish market opened in 193 ...

and

Toyosu Market The is a wholesale market in Tokyo, located in the Toyosu area of the Kōtō ward. There are two markets for seafood, one for general wholesale and one for bidding, and one market for fruits and vegetables, with each in its own building. Tourist ...

s. Yamamotoyama began as a tea house here in 1690. In later years, Nihonbashi emerged as Tokyo's (and Japan's) predominant financial district. The Nihonbashi bridge first became famous during the 17th century, when it was the eastern terminus of the

Nakasendō The , also called the ,Richard Lane, ''Images from the Floating World'' (1978) Chartwell, Secaucus ; pg. 285 was one of the five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Kyoto in Japan. There were 69 ...

and the Tōkaidō, roads which ran between Edo and

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

. During this time, it was known as ''Edobashi'', or "Edo Bridge." In the Meiji era, the wooden bridge was replaced by a larger stone bridge, which still stands today (a replica of the old bridge has been exhibited at the

Edo-Tokyo Museum The is a historical museum located at 1-4-1 Yokoami, Sumida-Ku, Tokyo in the Ryogoku district. The museum opened in March 1993 to preserve Edo's cultural heritage, and features city models of Edo and Tokyo between 1590 (just prior to the ...

). It is the point from which all distances are measured to the capital;

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-acces ...

signs indicating the distance to Tokyo actually state the number of kilometres to Nihonbashi. The area surrounding the bridge was burned to the ground during the massive March 9–10, 1945 bombing of Tokyo, considered the single largest air raid in history. Despite careful maintenance and restoration, one area of the bridge still has scars burned into the stone from an incendiary bomb. It is one of the few traces left from the fire bombing that leveled most of Tokyo. Nihonbashi was a ward of

Tokyo City was a municipality in Japan and part of Tokyo-fu which existed from 1 May 1889 until its merger with its prefecture on 1 July 1943. The historical boundaries of Tokyo City are now occupied by the Special Wards of Tokyo. The new merged gove ...

. In 1947, when the 35 wards of Tokyo were reorganized into 23, it was merged with Kyobashi to form the modern Chuo ward. Shortly before the 1964 Summer Olympics, an expressway was built over the Nihonbashi bridge, obscuring the classic view of Mount Fuji from the bridge. In recent years, local citizens have petitioned the government to move this expressway underground. This plan was endorsed by Prime Minister

Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi (; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a former Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics in 2009. He is ...

in 2005, and the

Tokyo Metropolitan Government The is the government of the Tokyo Metropolis. One of the 56 prefectures of Japan, the government consists of a popularly elected governor and assembly. The headquarters building is located in the ward of Shinjuku. The metropolitan governme ...

and

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism The , abbreviated MLIT, is a ministry of the Japanese government.国土交通省設置法 ...

announced in 2017 that they would begin a detailed study of the project, with a goal of beginning construction following the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

in Tokyo. The operator of the

Shuto Expressway is a network of toll expressways in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is operated and maintained by the . Most routes are grade-separated (elevated roads or tunnels) and central routes have many sharp curves and multi-lane merges that requi ...

received approval for construction in May 2020, which will relocate 1.8 kilometers of the expressway underground between Kandabashi and Edobashi Junctions. Construction has commenced and is expected to be completed in fiscal year 2041. Nihonbashi Bridge Ichiryusai Hiroshige 1830s.png, Nihonbashi bridge 1830s by

Hiroshige Utagawa Hiroshige (, also ; ja, 歌川広重 ), born Andō Tokutarō (; 1797 – 12 October 1858), was a Japanese ''ukiyo-e'' artist, considered the last great master of that tradition. Hiroshige is best known for his horizontal-format l ...

Places in Nihonbashi

* Bank of Japan *

and

Takashimaya is a Japanese multinational corporation operating a department store chain carrying a wide array of products, ranging from wedding dresses and other apparel to electronics and flatware. It has more than 12 branches strategically located in 2 ...

department stores * COREDO NIHONBASHI ( ja) *

Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower The Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower (日本橋三井タワー) is a skyscraper located in Chūō, Tokyo, Japan. The 192-metre, 34-storey building is primarily used for office space with the upper floors occupied by a hotel. Its construction was complet ...

** Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo ( ja) *

Tokyo Stock Exchange The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. It is the third largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies, and the largest in Asia. It had 2,292 listed ...

* Kilometre Zero for entire Japan

Companies based in Nihonbashi

Nihonbashi (日本橋) *

Akebono Brake Industry is a Japanese manufacturer of brake components for automobiles, motorcycles, trains, and industrial machinery. The company was founded by Sanji Osame in 1929 as Akebono Sekimen Kogyosho as a response to the demand by the Japan Army Authority f ...

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...

Merrill Lynch Japan * HSBC Japan *

Ippon Doll Works is the highest score a fighter can achieve in a Japanese martial arts ''ippon-wazari'' contest, usually kendo, judo, karate or jujitsu. In Judo In Judo, an ippon may be scored for a throw, a pin, a choke or a jointlock. For throws, the fou ...

* KOSÉ *

Kureha Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of specialty chemicals, polymers and agrichemicals. Corporate affairs Kureha Chemical Industries is a member of the Mizuho keiretsu. Products Polyglycolic acid One of the company's long term investments is in polyg ...

* Maruzen *

MODEC Modec was an electric vehicle manufacturer in Coventry, in the United Kingdom, specialising in Commercial vehicles in the N2 category. It unveiled its first model in April 2006 and announced its intention to commence series production in Ma ...

Nissan Chemical Corporation is a Japanese company and constituent of the Nikkei 225 stock index. History The company was founded in 1887 as the Tokyo Jinzo Hiryo (Tokyo Artificial Fertilizer Company) by Jokichi Takamine, Eiichi Shibusawa and Takashi Masuda Baro ...

Nisshinbo Holdings is a Japanese company formerly listed on the Nikkei 225. It has a diverse line of businesses that include electronics, automobile brakes, mechatronics, chemicals, textiles, papers and real estate. History Nisshinbo was established in 1907 as ...

Nomura Holdings is a Japanese financial holding company and a principal member of the Nomura Group. It, along with its broker-dealer, banking and other financial services subsidiaries, provides investment, financing and related services to individual, institut ...

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company The is a Japanese multinational pharmaceutical company, with partial American and British roots. It is the largest pharmaceutical company in Asia and one of the top 20 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world by revenue (top 10 followin ...

Hakozakicho (箱崎町) * IBM Japan - IBM Hakozaki Facility Honcho (本町) * Daiichi-Sankyo Muromachi (室町) *

Mitsui Fudosan is a major real estate developer in Japan. Mitsui Fudosan is one of the core companies of Mitsui Group. Corporate structure The company is organized into four divisions. *Office Building Division *Real Estate Solution Services Division *Accommo ...

* Sembikiya * Woven Planet *

Shinsei Bank is a leading diversified Japanese financial institution that provides a full range of financial products and services to both institutional and individual customers. It is owned by SBI Group and headquartered in Chuo, Tokyo. History SBI Shinse ...

In the late 1990s GeoCities Japan was headquartered in the Nihonbashi Hakozaki Building in Hakozakicho. At one time

Creatures Inc. is a Japanese video game company affiliated with Game Freak, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, and one of the owners of the Pokémon franchise. It was founded by Tsunekazu Ishihara in November 1995, with the assistance of then-president of HAL ...

had its headquarters in the in Nihonbashi.

Organizations based in Nihonbashi

Japan-India Association The is a foundation headquartered in the Suzuko Building (スズコービル ''Suzukō biru'') in Nihonbashi, Chuo, Tokyo.Home
" Japan ...

Railway and subway stations

Subway stations

* Bakuro-yokoyama Station (馬喰横山駅) -

Toei Shinjuku Line The is a rapid transit line in Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei). The line runs between Motoyawata Station in Ichikawa, Chiba in the east and Shinjuku Station in the west. At Shin ...

(S-09) * Hamachō Station (浜町駅) - Toei Shinjuku Line (S-10) *

Higashi-nihombashi Station is a subway station on the Toei Asakusa Line, operated by the Toei. It is located in Chūō, Tokyo, Japan. Layout Higashi-nihombashi Station has two platforms serving two tracks. Track 1 is for passengers traveling toward Sengakuji and Nis ...

(東日本橋駅) -

Toei Asakusa Line The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo subway operator Toei Subway. The line runs between in Ōta and in Sumida. The line is named after the Asakusa district, a cultural center of Tokyo, under which it passes. The Asa ...

(A-15) *

Kayabachō Station is a subway station in the Nihonbashi neighbourhood of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo subway operator Tokyo Metro. Lines Kayabacho Station is served by the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line and the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line. Station layout Th ...

(茅場町駅) -

Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by Tokyo Metro. The line was named after the Hibiya area in Chiyoda's Yurakucho district, under which it passes. On maps, diagrams and signboards, the line is shown using the color sil ...

(H-13),

Tokyo Metro Tōzai Line The is a rapid transit line in Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by Tokyo Metro. Its name translates to "''East-West Line"''. The line runs between Nakano in Nakano-ku, Tokyo and Nishi-Funabashi in Funabashi, Chiba Pr ...

(T-11) * Kodemmachō Station (小伝馬町駅) - Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line (H-15) *

Mitsukoshimae Station is a subway station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line and Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line, in Chūō, Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tokyo Metro. Lines Mitsukoshimae Station is served by the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line (station number G-12) and the Tokyo Metro H ...

(三越前駅) -

Tokyo Metro Ginza Line The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tokyo Metro. The official name is . It is 14.3 km long and serves the wards of Shibuya, Minato, Chūō, Chiyoda, and Taitō. It is the oldest subway line in Asia. The line was named aft ...

(G-12),

Tokyo Metro Hanzōmon Line The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by Tokyo Metro. Overview The 16.8 km line serves the wards of Shibuya, Minato, Chiyoda, Chūō, Kōtō, and Sumida. Despite being shorter in length than nearly all other Tokyo su ...

(Z-09) *

Nihombashi Station is a subway station in the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo, Japan, jointly operated by Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei) and Tokyo Metro. Lines Nihombashi Station is served by the following lines. Station layout The Ginza Line ...

(日本橋駅) - Toei Asakusa Line (A-13), Tokyo Metro Ginza Line (G-11), Tokyo Metro Tōzai Line (T-10) *

Ningyōchō Station is a subway station on the (operated by Tokyo Metro) and the (operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation). It is located in the Ningyocho neighborhood of Nihonbashi, Chūō, Tokyo, Japan. Station layout On the Hibiya Line, ...

(人形町駅) - Toei Asakusa Line (A-14), Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line (H-14) *

Suitengūmae Station is a subway station on the Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line in Chūō, Tokyo, operated by the Tokyo subway operator Tokyo Metro. It is connected by moving walkways to the Tokyo City Air Terminal, and Ningyocho Station is located 500 meters to the e ...

(水天宮前駅) - Tokyo Metro Hanzōmon Line (Z-10)

Railway stations

Bakurochō Station is a railway station in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, Japan. The station opened on July 15, 1972. Lines *East Japan Railway Company **Sōbu Line (Rapid) Passengers can transfer to: *Higashi-nihombashi Station on the Toei Asakusa Line *Bakuro-yo ...

(馬喰町駅) - JR

Sōbu Line (Rapid) The Sōbu Line (Rapid) ( ja, 総武快速線, ) is a railway service on the Sōbu Main Line in Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Tokyo Station in Chūō, Tokyo with Chiba Station ...

* Shin-Nihombashi Station (新日本橋駅) - JR Sōbu Line (Rapid)

Education

Public elementary and junior high schools are operated by Chuo City Board of Education. Jōtō Elementary School ( 中央区立城東小学校) and Nihonbashi Junior High School ( 中央区立日本橋中学校) are the zoned public schools of the Nihonbashi District. - There is a Nihonbashi Elementary School, but the page lists ("日本橋") under Joto (城東) elementary. "通学区域" means school attendance boundary (comes up as "school district" on

Google Translate Google Translate is a multilingual neural machine translation service developed by Google to translate text, documents and websites from one language into another. It offers a website interface, a mobile app for Android and iOS, and an API ...

)

Neighboring post towns

As the starting point for the five routes of the

, Nihonbashi provided easy access to many parts throughout ancient Japan. * Tōkaidō (connecting Edo to

, staying near the coast) :Nihonbashi ''(starting location)'' -

Shinagawa-juku was the one of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō.Tōkaidō Shinagawa-juku
Haguregumo. Accessed December ...

(connecting Edo to Kyoto, going through the mountains) :Nihonbashi ''(starting location)'' - Itabashi-juku *

Kōshū Kaidō The was one of the five routes of the Edo period. It was built to connect Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with Kai Province in modern-day Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. The route continues from there to connect with the Nakasendō's Shimosuwa-shuku in ...

(connecting Edo to Kai Province (modern-day

Yamanashi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 817,192 (1 January 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the ...

)) :Nihonbashi ''(starting location)'' - Naitō Shinjuku *

Ōshū Kaidō The was one of the five routes of the Edo period. It was built to connect Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with Mutsu Province and the present-day city of Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. It was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu for government offic ...

(connecting Edo to Mutsu Province (modern-day Fukushima Prefecture)) :Nihonbashi ''(starting location)'' - Hakutaku-juku *

Nikkō Kaidō The was one of the five routes of the Edo period and it was built to connect Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with the temple-shrine complex of the Mangan-ji and Tōshōsha (now called the Rinnō-ji and Tōshōgū), which are located in the present-day ...

(connecting Edo with Nikkō) :Nihonbashi ''(starting location)'' - Senju-juku

Photo gallery

Image:Hiroshige le pont Nihonbashi à l'aube.jpg,

Ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk t ...

print of Nihonbashi bridge by

(from ''

The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō , in the Hōeidō edition (1833–1834), is a series of ukiyo-e woodcut prints created by Utagawa Hiroshige after his first travel along the Tōkaidō in 1832. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tōkaidō Gojūsan tsugi''" in ''Japan Encyclope ...

'') File:The_Kilometre_Zero_of_road_in_Japan_in_Nihonbashi,_Chuo,_Tokyo.jpg, Kilometre zero is on the middle of the bridge. File:NihonbashiTokyo.jpg, Lion on the Nihonbashi Bridge

References

External links

{{Coord, 35, 41, 02, N, 139, 46, 28, E, type:landmark, display=title Chūō, Tokyo Neighborhoods of Tokyo Financial districts Stations of the Nakasendō Stations of the Tōkaidō Bridges in Japan Bridges completed in 1911 Kilometre-zero markers 1911 establishments in Japan