In the early Edo period, the Sumida River had only one bridge, because the Shogunate didn't allow building bridges across the river from a defense point of view. However, in the Great Meireki Fire, many people died because they could not escape to the other side of the river.
Therefore, a new bridge called Ryogokubashi was built in 1659.
The east side of the Sumida River were rural areas called Honjo and Fukagawa. These areas had very little damage from the Great Meireki Fire.
After the bridge was built, the Shogunate developed these areas.
In 1660, the Honjo magistrate was established and then samurai residents and temple dwellers moved into these areas. Honjo was mainly used as residential purposes and Fukagawa was developed as a commercial port district. After this development, Honjo and Fukagawa were included in Edo.
Photo: diorama of Ryogokubashi bridge.
I took this photo at the Edo Tokyo Museum. This museum has been closed since April 2022 for major renovation.