心斎橋
1622
Shinsaibashiしんさいばし
Shinsai's bridge
- 心斎shinsai — Shinsai — a merchant's name
- 橋bashi — bridge
Named after Okada Shinsai, the merchant who bridged the Nagahori canal in 1622. The canal is now a street; the bridge is now a crosswalk. Only the man's name still makes the crossing.
Around 1622 — so the city records it — the merchant Okada Shinsai built a bridge across the Nagahori canal. The canal was filled in by 1964 and the bridge dismantled; its stone railings and gas lamps were salvaged. Today 'Shinsaibashi' survives as a stone-paved pedestrian crossing. The river is gone, the bridge is a crosswalk — only the man's name still makes the crossing.
Modern proof
The 'bridge' still exists — as the stone-paved crosswalk where the shopping street meets Nagahori avenue, dressed with the original railings and gas lamps.
sourceA twin of Dōtonbori: the same era, the same pattern — a merchant's name outliving the water it once crossed.
Sources
- 大阪市(中央区)「心斎橋」(1622年・岡田心斎による架橋)[government]
- 大阪市建設局「心斎橋は現存するか」(石畳横断歩道としての現存)[government]