東京宮城正門二重橋

About this photo

A two-arched stone bridge runs straight across the dark water. Beyond it, a low line of trees and rooftops runs along the far bank, and at the far left a roofed wall takes up much of the frame.

In the Edo period, the bridge beyond the main gate was made of wood. Because the moat was deep, its girders were built in two tiers, and that is where the name Nijubashi ("double bridge") comes from. The two-arched stone bridge in the foreground is also often called Nijubashi, but dictionaries treat this as a mistake and give its name as the Seimon Ishibashi (Main Gate Stone Bridge).

A pale sky takes up roughly the top third of the picture and dark water the bottom third, with the bridge and the far bank in the band between them. In the middle of that band, the two arches appear as a pair of black shadows. Set between the bright sky and the dark water, their black stands out sharply.

Glossary