Behold, the Shin-Ohashi Bridge. Tokyo holds countless bridges, each with its own tale. Shin-Ohashi, arcing over the Sumida River, might seem plain at first glance, save its yellow pillars. But it is an icon steeped in art history.
Originally built in 1693, Shin-Ohashi Bridge caught the eye of the poet Matsuo Bashō. He immortalized it in haiku. Disasters struck. Fires, storms, and floods damaged it. It was rebuilt at least 20 times by 1744. Then, the local council took over its care.
Step back to 1856. Utagawa Hiroshige, the ukiyo-e artist, captured Shin-Ohashi in a woodblock print. It was titled “Sudden Shower over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake”. This masterpiece became part of the series “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo”. Thousands of prints made their way to Europe. They influenced the Impressionists during the Japonisme era.
Imagine Vincent Van Gogh. He collected Japanese prints with passion. He painted his own versions, including “Ohashi-Atake”. He experimented with composition inspired by the prints of the Shin-Ohashi.
However, remember this: The exact bridge in those artworks is gone. A Western-style wooden bridge replaced it in 1885. In 1912, an iron bridge with Art Nouveau features took its place. This was nicknamed the “life-saving bridge”. It survived the great earthquake of 1923 undamaged. It sheltered many victims.
The current Shin-Ohashi Bridge dates back to 1977. It sits about a hundred meters downriver from the original site. Few recognize it as the art icon it once was.
Consider this. The poet Basho dwelled on the river’s eastern bank as he watched the first Shin-Ohashi Bridge being built in the winter of 1693-94. He wrote the haiku: “First snow / falling / on the half-finished bridge.” Once the bridge was completed, he penned: “So thankful / in gratitude they tread across / the frosty bridge.”
Shin-Ohashi is also a name that means “new big bridge”. But each version was considered the new one. The name distinguished it from an older Ohashi bridge at Ryogoku.
The 1912 bridge boasted a steel-plated roadway. It had walkways with Art Nouveau railings. A section of it now resides in Meiji Mura historical park in Inuyama. It spans a pond there.
Today’s Shin-Ohashi is a cable-stayed structure from 1976. It can be reached from Hamacho or Morishita stations. Spot the tall orange towers in the middle. Art adorns the bridge. Metal plaques depict Hiroshige’s image and the Meiji-era bridge.
You’ll notice illuminated colours of yellow and green. Benches invite you to pause and admire the night view. From here, you can see Kiyosubashi Bridge and the Shin-Ohashi Apartments. At night, the lights shine from sunset to 11 pm.
Remember, the haiku monument sits a few hundred meters south. The current Shin-Ohashi stands upstream from Basho’s bridge. You cannot cross the same river on the same bridge twice.