東京名勝高輪蒸気車鉄道之全図（中の1枚）

About this print

This is the center sheet of Tokyo Meisho Takanawa Jokisha Tetsudo no Zenzu (The Steam Railway at Takanawa, a Famous Place in Tokyo), a triptych (three sheets placed side by side to form one picture) made by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi in 1871 (Meiji 4). On top of a high wall of many-colored stones laid in a checkerboard-like pattern, people peer over a fence at the tracks, while behind them a party with horses and parasols moves along. Below, men and women in Western dress ride in a car with only a roof and posts, followed by passenger cars with doors.

Around Takanawa, the real railway ran over the sea. Because the Hyobusho (Ministry of Military Affairs) would not give up its military land in the area, an embankment about 2.7 kilometers long was built in the shallow sea, and the tracks were laid on top of it. This is the Takanawa Chikutei (Takanawa Embankment).

The embankment lay buried for a long time, but in 2019 it was found during redevelopment work near Takanawa Gateway Station, and in 2021 it became a national Historic Site. Part of it has been preserved where it was found.

Glossary