Manseibashi Station
Encyclopedia
can refer to two closed train stations all in Chiyoda, Tokyo
, Japan. One was a railway station on the Japanese Government Railways
Chūō Main Line
and the other was a subway station in the Tokyo Subway
network.
Both stations were closed by 1943, though trains and subway cars still pass through them. The stations took their name from the nearby bridge, Manseibashi
. The railway station was located on the south bank of the Kanda River
, while the subway station was located on the north bank. The area north of the bridge is known as "Akihabara
Electric Town".
of Japanese Government Railways was in the Kanda Ward (now part of Chiyoda Ward
), and is located between Ochanomizu Station
and Kanda Station.
and Shinjuku
was opened on April 11, 1889. The line was gradually extended east towards the center of Tokyo and was nationalized on October 1, 1906. The line was further extended to Manseibashi Station, which was opened on April 1, 1912 and remained the eastern terminal station of the line for seven years.
The first station building was designed by Tatsuno Kingo
in a style inspired by the Amsterdam Centraal
and repeated in his design of Tokyo Station
, opened two years later. A statue of Takeo Hirose
was erected in front of the station.
After the 1914 opening of Tokyo Station, Manseibashi still served as the eastern terminal station of the Chūō Main Line until March 1, 1919, when the line was further extended and Kanda Station opened. The 1923 Great Kantō earthquake
destroyed the original station building, and a simpler station building was erected in its place. The statue of Hirose was left standing.
In 1925, the elevated railway running through Ueno Station
and Akihabara Station
was opened for passenger traffic. Since both Akihabara and Kanda stations were within walking distance of Manseibashi, passenger numbers at Manseibashi decreased. On April 26, 1936, the Railway Museum moved into Manseibashi Station, and the station building itself was scaled back in November 1936. The station was officially closed on November 1, 1943 and the station building was completely torn down. The statue was removed after World War II
.
as the Railway Museum.
The Manseibashi subway station was on what is now (as of 2008) the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line
, situated between the Kanda and Suehirochō
stations. It was within the old Kanda Ward, like the JGR station, but on the opposite bank of the Kanda River.
and Asakusa
, opened in 1927, was being extended southward. When the extension reached the Kanda River, a temporary subway station was opened at Manseibashi on January 1, 1930. This station was closed again on November 21, 1931 since the line had been extended across the Kanda River to Kanda Station itself.
The old subway station is currently (as of 2007) still closed as a station, but the opening remains as a ventilation
shaft, emergency exit
and maintenance access point for the metro line. The opening and stairs are under grating on the sidewalk in Akihabara
, Tokyo's "Electric Town" and a major shopping area for consumer electronics
, hobby electronics
, manga
and anime
. One anime series, RahXephon
, set some of its important scenes in this station, showing it restored and modernized in 2015.
The station is hard to detect by travellers on the Ginza line. The ceiling is higher on the station, but very little of the other structure remains.
Chiyoda, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards in central Tokyo, Japan. In English, it is called Chiyoda ward. As of October 2007, the ward has an estimated population of 45,543 and a population density of 3,912 people per km², making it by far the least populated of the special wards...
, Japan. One was a railway station on the Japanese Government Railways
Japanese Government Railways
The Japanese Government Railways was the national railway system directly operated by the central government of Japan until 1949. It is a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the Japan Railways Group.- Name :...
Chūō Main Line
Chuo Main Line
The , commonly called the Chūō Line, is one of the major trunk railway lines in Japan. It runs between Tokyo and Nagoya, although it is the slowest direct railway connection between the two cities; the coastal Tōkaidō Main Line is slightly faster, while the Tōkaidō Shinkansen is the fastest rail...
and the other was a subway station in the Tokyo Subway
Tokyo Subway
The is an integral part of the world's most extensive rapid transit system in a single metropolitan area, Greater Tokyo. While the subway system itself is largely within the city center, the lines extend far out via extensive through services onto suburban railway lines.- Networks :As of June...
network.
Both stations were closed by 1943, though trains and subway cars still pass through them. The stations took their name from the nearby bridge, Manseibashi
Manseibashi
is a concrete single arch bridge across the Kanda River in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Two public transport stations and a police station nearby are named after this bridge....
. The railway station was located on the south bank of the Kanda River
Kanda River
The stretches 24.6 km from Inokashira Park in Mitaka to the Sumida River under the Ryōgoku Bridge at the boundary of Taitō, Chūō, and Sumida. Its entire length lies within Tokyo, Japan. It drains an area of 105.0 km². The government of Japan classifies it as a Class I river.-Tributaries...
, while the subway station was located on the north bank. The area north of the bridge is known as "Akihabara
Akihabara
, also known as , is an area of Tokyo, Japan. It is located less than five minutes by rail from Tokyo Station. Its name is frequently shortened to in Japan...
Electric Town".
Government railway station
The old Manseibashi Station on the Chūō Main LineChuo Main Line
The , commonly called the Chūō Line, is one of the major trunk railway lines in Japan. It runs between Tokyo and Nagoya, although it is the slowest direct railway connection between the two cities; the coastal Tōkaidō Main Line is slightly faster, while the Tōkaidō Shinkansen is the fastest rail...
of Japanese Government Railways was in the Kanda Ward (now part of Chiyoda Ward
Chiyoda, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards in central Tokyo, Japan. In English, it is called Chiyoda ward. As of October 2007, the ward has an estimated population of 45,543 and a population density of 3,912 people per km², making it by far the least populated of the special wards...
), and is located between Ochanomizu Station
Ochanomizu Station
is a railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company and Tokyo Metro.-Location:JR East's Ochanomizu station lies next to the Kanda River. During the Edo period, the Kanda River was rerouted to pass through Ochanomizu, which was otherwise a highland between two...
and Kanda Station.
- Location: 35°41′49"N 139°46′13"E
History
The private between TachikawaTachikawa Station
is an important railway station in the city of Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan. The JR Chūō Line passes through Tachikawa Station. The Ōme Line and Nambu Line terminate here...
and Shinjuku
Shinjuku Station
is a train station located in Shinjuku and Shibuya wards in Tokyo, Japan.Serving as the main connecting hub for rail traffic between central Tokyo and its western suburbs on inter-city rail, commuter rail and metro lines, the station was used by an average of 3.64 million people per day in 2007,...
was opened on April 11, 1889. The line was gradually extended east towards the center of Tokyo and was nationalized on October 1, 1906. The line was further extended to Manseibashi Station, which was opened on April 1, 1912 and remained the eastern terminal station of the line for seven years.
The first station building was designed by Tatsuno Kingo
Tatsuno Kingo
was a Japanese architect born in Karatsu, Saga Prefecture, Kyushu.He studied in Japan at the Imperial College of Engineering where he was one of the first to graduate in 1879 under British architect Josiah Conder. He visited England and worked in the office of William Burges in 1881-2. He taught...
in a style inspired by the Amsterdam Centraal
Amsterdam Centraal
' is the central station of Amsterdam. It is one of the main railway hubs of the Netherlands and is used by 250,000 passengers a day, excluding transferring passengers. It is also the starting point of Amsterdam Metro lines 51, 53, and 54. The station building of Amsterdam Centraal was designed by...
and repeated in his design of Tokyo Station
Tokyo Station
is a train station located in the Marunouchi business district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, near the Imperial Palace grounds and the Ginza commercial district....
, opened two years later. A statue of Takeo Hirose
Takeo Hirose
, was an officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy. His selfless sacrifice during the Russo-Japanese War elevated him to the status of a deified national hero....
was erected in front of the station.
After the 1914 opening of Tokyo Station, Manseibashi still served as the eastern terminal station of the Chūō Main Line until March 1, 1919, when the line was further extended and Kanda Station opened. The 1923 Great Kantō earthquake
1923 Great Kanto earthquake
The struck the Kantō plain on the Japanese main island of Honshū at 11:58:44 am JST on September 1, 1923. Varied accounts hold that the duration of the earthquake was between 4 and 10 minutes...
destroyed the original station building, and a simpler station building was erected in its place. The statue of Hirose was left standing.
In 1925, the elevated railway running through Ueno Station
Ueno Station
is a major railway station inTokyo's Taitō ward. It is the station used to reach the Ueno district and Ueno Park -- which contains Tokyo National Museum, The National Museum of Western Art, Ueno Zoo, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and other famous cultural facilities...
and Akihabara Station
Akihabara Station
is a railway station locatedin Tokyo's Chiyoda ward. It is at the center of the famous Akihabara shopping district specializing in electronic goods.-Lines:JR East:* Keihin-Tōhoku Line* Yamanote Line* Chūō-Sōbu LineTokyo Metro:...
was opened for passenger traffic. Since both Akihabara and Kanda stations were within walking distance of Manseibashi, passenger numbers at Manseibashi decreased. On April 26, 1936, the Railway Museum moved into Manseibashi Station, and the station building itself was scaled back in November 1936. The station was officially closed on November 1, 1943 and the station building was completely torn down. The statue was removed after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
After the closure
The train line continues (as of 2008) to run through the lot, and it is used for parking the occasional train. The Tokyo Railway Museum was made the Transportation Museum in 1971, and continued to operate on the lot until 2006, when the museum was re-focused towards railways and moved to Saitama, SaitamaSaitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
as the Railway Museum.
Subway station
Tokyo Metro Ginza Line
The is a subway line located in Tokyo, Japan. It is part of the of Tokyo Metro network. The official name is . It is 14.3 km long and serves the wards of Shibuya, Minato, Chūō, Chiyoda, and Taitō....
, situated between the Kanda and Suehirochō
Suehirocho Station (Tokyo)
Suehirochō Station is a subway station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, located in Chiyoda, Tokyo.-Adjacent stations:-Gallery:...
stations. It was within the old Kanda Ward, like the JGR station, but on the opposite bank of the Kanda River.
- Location: 35°41′52"N 139°46′16"E
History
The subway line between UenoUeno Station
is a major railway station inTokyo's Taitō ward. It is the station used to reach the Ueno district and Ueno Park -- which contains Tokyo National Museum, The National Museum of Western Art, Ueno Zoo, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and other famous cultural facilities...
and Asakusa
Asakusa Station
is a railway station in the Asakusa district of Taito, Tokyo, Japan.-Lines:* Tobu Isesaki Line* Toei Asakusa Line '* Tokyo Metro Ginza Line 'The Tsukuba Express Asakusa Station is located about 600 m to the west.-Tobu Railway:...
, opened in 1927, was being extended southward. When the extension reached the Kanda River, a temporary subway station was opened at Manseibashi on January 1, 1930. This station was closed again on November 21, 1931 since the line had been extended across the Kanda River to Kanda Station itself.
Current situation
Ventilation (architecture)
Ventilating is the process of "changing" or replacing air in any space to provide high indoor air quality...
shaft, emergency exit
Emergency exit
An emergency exit in a structure is a special exit for emergencies such as a fire: the combined use of regular and special exits allows for faster evacuation, while it also provides an alternative if the route to the regular exit is blocked by fire, etc....
and maintenance access point for the metro line. The opening and stairs are under grating on the sidewalk in Akihabara
Akihabara
, also known as , is an area of Tokyo, Japan. It is located less than five minutes by rail from Tokyo Station. Its name is frequently shortened to in Japan...
, Tokyo's "Electric Town" and a major shopping area for consumer electronics
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...
, hobby electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
, manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
and anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
. One anime series, RahXephon
RahXephon
is a Japanese anime series about 17-year-old Ayato Kamina, his ability to control a godlike mecha known as the RahXephon, and his inner journey to find a place in the world...
, set some of its important scenes in this station, showing it restored and modernized in 2015.
The station is hard to detect by travellers on the Ginza line. The ceiling is higher on the station, but very little of the other structure remains.
See also
- History of TokyoHistory of TokyoThe History of Tokyo chronicles the growth of Japan's largest urban center. The eastern mainland part of Tokyo occupies land in the Kantō region that, together with the modern-day Saitama Prefecture, the city of Kawasaki and the eastern part of Yokohama, made up Musashi, one of the provinces under...
- Transportation in Greater TokyoTransportation in Greater TokyoThe transport network in Greater Tokyo includes public and private rail and highway networks; airports for international, domestic, and general aviation; buses; motorcycle delivery services, walking, bicycling, and commercial shipping. While the nexus is in the central part of Tokyo, every part of...
- Rail transport in JapanRail transport in JapanRail transport in Japan is a major means of passenger transport, especially for mass and high-speed travel between major cities and for commuter transport in metropolitan areas.-Overview:...