The is a river that flows through central
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
, Japan. It branches from the
Arakawa River at Iwabuchi (in
Kita-ku) and flows into
Tokyo Bay
is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...
. Its tributaries include the
Kanda and
Shakujii rivers.
It passes through the
Kita,
Adachi,
Arakawa,
Sumida,
Taitō,
Kōtō and
Chūō wards of Tokyo.
What is now known as the "Sumida River" was previously the path of the Ara-kawa. Toward the end of the
Meiji era, the Ara-kawa was manually diverted to prevent flooding, as the
Imperial Palace in
Chiyoda is nearby.
Art
Sumida Gawa pottery was named after the Sumida River and was originally manufactured in the
Asakusa district near Tokyo by potter Inoue Ryosai I and his son Inoue Ryosai II.
In the late 1890s, Ryosai I developed a style of applied figures on a surface with flowing glaze,
based on Chinese glazes called "flambe."
Sumida pieces could be teapots, ash trays, or vases, and were made for export to the West.
Inoue Ryosai III, grandson of Ryosai I, moved the manufacturing site to
Yokohama
is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
in 1924,
but the pieces continued to be identified as Sumida ware.
The pottery has been subject to various myths, such as being manufactured on the make-believe island of Poo, which was washed away by a typhoon, or being manufactured by Korean prisoners of war.
[Andacht, p. 49] Sandra Andacht wrote in 1987, "Sumida gawa wares have found great popularity with collectors, dealers and investors. The motifs conform to the general Western concepts of what Oriental designs are expected to depict; writhing dragons, Buddhist disciples, mythological and legendary beings and creatures. Thus, these wares are sought after and prices (here in the States) are high, even for pieces in less than perfect condition."
[Andacht, p. 51]
File:東都名所 永代橋佃沖漁舟-Eitai Bashi Tsukudajima Ryosen MET DP123243.jpg, ''Eitai Bridge and Tsukuda'' – Hiroshige, 1830
File:Sunset across the Ryogoku bridge from the bank of the Sumida river at Onmagayashi.jpg, ''Sunset across the Ryōgoku bridge from the bank of the Sumida River at Onmayagashi –'' Hokusai
, known mononymously as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. His woodblock printing in Japan, woodblock print series ''Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'' includes the iconic print ''The Gr ...
, 1830
File:100 views edo 103.jpg, ''Senju Great Bridge –'' Hiroshige, 1856
File:100 views edo 034.jpg, ''Night View of the Matsuchiyama and Sam'ya Canal –'' Hiroshige, 1857
File:Sumidagawa-UtagawaHiroshige1881.jpg, ''Bokusui tsutsumi hanazakari no zu –'' Hiroshige III, 1881
File:Night on the Sumida River LACMA M.71.100.73.jpg, Night on the Sumida River – Kobayashi Kiyochika, 1881
Culture
The ''
Noh'' play ''Sumida-gawa'', 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
is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...
play, ''Sumida-gawa — 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 the
Heisei Nakamura-za in the
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...
Festival in New York in the summer of 2007, with
Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII leading the cast.
The
Sumida River Fireworks, which are recognized as one of the oldest and most famous firework displays in Japan, are launched from barges across the river between
Ryōgoku and
Asakusa. During summer, a festival is also held at the same time.
Literature
The poet
Matsuo Bashō lived by the Sumida River, alongside the famous banana tree (Japanese: bashō) from which he took his
nom de plume. See, for example, the opening lines of "Records of a Weather Exposed Skeleton," published in ''The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches'' (Penguin Classics, 1967).
The Sumida River appears in a
haiku
is a type of short form poetry that originated in Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases composed of 17 Mora (linguistics), morae (called ''On (Japanese prosody), on'' in Japanese) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern; that include a ''kire ...
by
Issa from 1820:
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 Ryōgoku-bashi (
Ryōgoku Bridge), dating from 1932, replaced a bridge built in 1659. This bridge was immortalized many times by
Hiroshige.
* The Eitai-bashi (Eitai Bridge), dating from 1924, replaces a bridge built in 1696.
[Titsingh (1834), p. 415.]
* The 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.
* The Sakura Bridge, dating from 1985, linking Sumida Park and Bokutei-dori Avenue.
* The 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.
* The 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.
* The Komagata Bridge, dating from 1927, takes its name from the Matsugata temple dedicated to
Bato-Kanon.
* The Umaya Bridge, dating from 1929, replaced a bridge built in 1875.
* The Kuramae-bashi, built in 1924.
* The Shin Ohashi (New Bridge), dating from 1976, replaced a bridge built in 1693. This bridge was not far from the Ryōgoku Bridge.
* The Kiyosu Bridge, built in 1928 after the model of the
Deutz Suspension Bridge of Cologne, links Kiyosu with Nihonbashi-Nakasu.
[Koizumi Kishio: ]
100 Views of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era. #1
'
* The Chuo Bridge was opened in 1994.
* The Tsukuda Bridge, dating from 1964, was the first bridge built after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, crossing the river from
Tsukiji to
Tsukishima.
* The Kachidoki Bridge was constructed in 1940 for the commemoration of the victory of the Japanese army at
Lushun during the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...
. This bridge is the only drawbridge on the Sumida and has not been raised since 1970.
* Tsukiji Ohashi is the newest bridge across the Sumida, opening in 2018 right next to the former site of Tsukiji Market.
Panorama
See also
*
Senju Thermal Power Station
Notes
References
*
*'' Imprimerie Royale de France''.
External links
Photograph of re-built Ryogoku bridge (1875) National Archives of Japan
Photograph of re-built Azumabashi Bridge (June 1876) National Archives of Japan
Color woodcut print of "Pleasure boating on the Sumida River", c. 1788–1790 New York Public Library Digital Gallery
{{Coord, 35, 43, 07, N, 139, 48, 26, E, region:JP_type:river_source:dewiki, display=title
Rivers of Tokyo
Rivers of Japan
Geography of Kita, Tokyo
Geography of Adachi, Tokyo
Geography of Arakawa, Tokyo
Geography of Sumida, Tokyo
Geography of Taitō
Geography of Kōtō
Geography of Chūō, Tokyo