Nihonbashi - Thunder Upon the Bridge

“Just as the city prospers, one hears the feet of people and horses beating like thunder upon the bridge.” – Miura Joshin We tend to assume that urban soundscapes have gotten louder over time, which makes the area of Nihonbashi an interesting case study that demonstrates how this may not always be the case: The bridge of Nihonbashi has historically been described as unbearably noisy, but today is actually one of the quieter urban areas that I visited along the Tōkaidō, despite its continued role as the official literal centre of Tōkyō. Modern shoes make a much softer and duller sound than the wooden sandals that were popular in Miura Joshin’s time, and horses are obviously far less common. What’s more, the bridge itself is no longer wooden but is instead made of a sturdier and much less resonant stone material. However, a thunderous sound does pervade to this day: that of the constant drone of traffic which I would find hardly ever ceased during the 500+km journey that lay before me.