海軍橋通

About this photo

This photograph shows Kaigunbashi-dori (Navy Bridge Street) in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture. It appears in Sasebo Annai (Guide to Sasebo), published by Sasebo City in 1922 (Taisho 11). The street ran straight into town from the Navy Bridge, which connected the navy's grounds with the town, and it corresponds to today's Kokusai-dori (International Street).

Until the navy opened its naval district headquarters (chinjufu) in Sasebo, there was no bridge over the Sasebo River, and people are said to have crossed on stepping stones. A wooden bridge was built around the time the headquarters opened. After heavy rain washed it away in 1904 (Meiji 37), it was replaced in 1906 with a concrete bridge, a rarity anywhere in Japan at the time. Because navy men went back and forth over it, it came to be called the Navy Bridge, and the street is said to have been lined with tailors who made uniforms, hat shops, souvenir shops and photo studios.

The Navy Bridge was rebuilt in 1985 and is now called Sasebo Bridge. After the war the street came to be called Kokusai-dori because shops for foreigners lined it. In Hamada Park beside the bridge there is a monument modeled on the main posts and railings of the old bridge.

Glossary