Content source: Measure city public account Photo: Li Zhong, Li Haitao Written by: Li Haitao | Illustration: Li Haitao
Sumida River Rai
The Sumida River, located downstream of the Arakawa River, which separates Saitama Prefecture from Tokyo, is one of the most important waterways in the Tokyo metropolitan area, with a maximum width of 2.5 kilometers, ranking first in Japan. The upper reaches of the Arakawa River are wide and run through the seven urban areas of Tokyo, and the lower reaches of the river are greatly narrowed, resulting in sediment accumulation and forming a sedimentation geology. Therefore, since ancient times, whenever natural disasters such as floods and storms hit the city, the downstream river channels will be reduced to the hardest hit areas.
The Great Kanto Flood of 1910 killed hundreds of people along the Arakawa River, thousands of houses collapsed, and the urban area within 1 km of the downstream coast was flooded. In 1913, the Japanese government made up its mind to control the Arakawa River, and built a floodway in its lower reaches of the river, the "Arakawa Drainage Channel", which was completed in 1930, which was 23.5 kilometers long, with an average width of about 500 meters (including the embankment area) and a basin area of 690.3 square kilometers, which greatly alleviated the flood threat in the area of Tokyo.
In 1946, the Tokyo Shimbun launched a folk call for the naming of the river, and the name of sumida river was the first in the number of votes, (Sumida River is an ancient name, meaning farming in the delta of the river, and later derived the names of Kakuda, Sumida, Sumita, etc.) But at that time, "Sumida" was not a Japanese word, so it was not adopted, and the official was still collectively called Arakawa. In 1965, the government officially established the Arakawa Drainage Road as the main river channel of Arakawa, and the Arakawa River channel below the Iwabuchi Water Gate was eventually named sumida River.
The Pacific storms of 1949 and 1959 made Tokyo deeply aware that the greater threat came from the ocean, so the coast of the Sumida River was continuously upgraded to meet the challenges of natural disasters and meet the needs of urban development, and to explore a way to coexist with the "enemy". Today, the Sumida River is the river where 800,000 people live on both sides of the river, where 140,000 companies and 1.5 million employees gather in the "production" river, where cultural and architectural landmarks such as Sensoji Temple, Skytree, Kokukokukan, and the Edo-Tokyo Museum are located, and the Sumida River Fireworks Festival is also held here.
Nation: Japan
Location: The river channel between Arakawa and Tokyo Bay in Tokyo
Coordinates: 35°42'28.97"N, 139°47'53.74"E
Length: approx. 23.5 km
City Population:
Urban population approx. 9.55 million (as of October 2018)
Features: A river that combines natural disaster fighting with urban functions
During Japan's post-war period of rapid economic growth, Sumida river was faced with the problem of tight land for rapid urban expansion, and the phenomenon that land could not be used in the river area due to frequent floods and earthquakes.
Emergency period:
Most of the area around the Sumida River is below the highest tide line, and the rapid construction of protective walls has cut off the connection between the city and the Sumida River.
Sumida River through the continuous upgrading of the embankment system, trying to solve this contradiction, until the "super embankment" (also known as the green embankment, is the design of the embankment to improve the construction base, began to build in 1988, so far has been built 7km super embankment) began to build, it can not only resist the flood, has excellent earthquake resistance, more valuable is to increase a large number of high-quality construction land, reshape the relationship between water and the city, the problem of water, the problem of water and city disputes has been solved.
Promotion Period:
Super embankment: 14 meters high and about 400-500 meters wide, it can withstand disasters once in 200 years. More importantly, a large amount of hydrophilic development land has been added.
Ordinary embankments: Such embankments have the ability to prevent floods and earthquakes, but the construction land has not increased, and the problem of separation between water and the city cannot be solved.
Shoreline day trip
In 1999, the Tokyo Landscape Ordinance designated the 50-meter shoreline on both sides of the Sumida River as the "Sumida River Landscape Protection Axis", standardizing the construction of buildings, adding a rest platform and a green landscape, and building a "one-day use system for terrace revetments". Relying on the shoreline, it provides citizens with a waterfront leisure space for morning exercise, work rest, night viewing, fireworks and other activities.
The "Renaissance" movement
The Government launched the "Sumida Renaissance" micro-renewal project to improve water quality and restore ecology by shaping the ecological shoreline; cooperated with relevant organizations to carry out river-related public relations activities; and amended the River Occupation Permit Rules to allow commercial development, for example, the first café was established along the waterfront in 2013. This series of actions has reshaped the vibrant modern waterfront life.
The distribution of cultural and recreational areas along the Sumida River is indicated
During the Edo period, The Sumida River was the civic center of the city, and the vigorous development of modern industry made the cultural and entertainment attributes of the region disappear.
Today, under the protection of the super embankment and the attraction of the vibrant waterfront, a contemporary civic center is once again displayed in front of people: the west bank has an upgraded version of Sensoji Temple, and the Edo-Tokyo Museum, Skytree, Kokujikkan, Tokyo Reconstruction Museum and other cultural and entertainment facilities built on the east bank are scattered, re-enacting the prosperous scene of the Edo period in a contemporary way.
During the Edo period, due to urban defense, the construction of bridges over the Sumida River was restricted, and from the Meiji period onwards, the connection between the two sides of the strait gradually strengthened, and bridges emerged in large numbers.
Today, there are more than 30 bridges over the Sumida River, and there are about 7 kilometers from the mouth of the river to Asakusa: the Tenant Bridge, the Ryogoku Bridge, the Samagimae Bridge, the Stables Bridge, the Komagata Bridge, the Azuma Bridge, and the Yanwen Bridge, making the Sumida River known as the "Bridge Museum".
After the Great Kanto Earthquake, the reconstructed bridges were built in the form of "repairing the old as old", that is, the original appearance of the modern structure, for the sake of vehicle traffic and earthquake resistance, while the new bridges have their own unique design, which together show the historical changes of Tokyo.
The Sumida River connects urban architecture and natural scenery in a hundred steps, which can be described as a natural landscape in the city. The best view of this scenery is undoubtedly on the water, so Sumida River has planned the city's second sightseeing route: water navigation. The route has a strong environmental switch in different areas, there are coastal scenery, there are also modern cities, as well as cultural attractions, forming a rich tour route, such as Asakusa Odaiba around sightseeing line, leisurely day trip line, seaside park line, night tour route, etc., to meet the different needs of tourists.
Navigable ships are differentiated according to different routes, both historical ships and future ships, which not only enrich the visitor experience, but also become a changeable scenery on the water. For example, the "HIMIKO", a future vehicle designed by Japanese manga artist Kishi Matsumoto, can enjoy the modern charm of Tokyo all the way from the modern Shinto Shinshin Odaiba.
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