In the era of the Emperor Monmu (701-704), government-operated stock farms were established here and there in the center of the present metropolis. The area from Waseda to Toyama thronged with roaming cows and, therefore, called ‘Ushigome’ (cow throngs). The area of this shrine was also cow ranches. In the dairy farm, there was established a dispensary where cows were reared on the floor for a period and unproductive old cows or sick cows were sorted out.
Ushigome Station opened on October 9, 1894, the same day that Kōbu Railway initiated service between Shinjuku and Ushigome Stations. Before Iidama-chi Station opened on April 3, 1895, Ushigome Station served as the starting station on the Kōbu Line. Ushigome Station was located on the portion of present-day Iidbashi Station that extends from Ushigome Bridge in the direction of Ichigaya Station. At the time, portions of the outer moat were reclaimed in order to construct the station house and train tracks. Ushigome Station’s platform was located on the site currently occupied the JR Chuo Rapid Transit Line. In addition, the station house was constructed on the site currently occupied by the JR Chuo and Sobu Local Lines. Ushigome Station had two ticket gates. One was located on the present-day Shinjuku Ward side and the other was located on the Chiyoda Ward side. The gate building on the Chiyoda Ward side was constructed facing the road alongside the outer moat’s embankment and could be accessed by a staircase that rose from the Station’s rail bridge and climbed the embankment. A retaining wall from a section of the embankment next to the station house remains in place today in the vicinity of the entrance to Sotobori Park. On the Shinjuku Ward side, a road was constructed on land reclaimed from alongside Ushigome-mon Gate’s earthen bridge. Thereafter, Ushigome Station could be reached via a small pedestrian bridge, which was erected near the aqueduct attached to Ushigome-mon Gate’s weir. Today, portions of the foundation that supported the pedestrian bridge remain in place and are visible from Iidabashi Station’s platform and atop Ushigome Bridge.
These two maps indicate the location of historical sites in the vicinity of Iidabachi and Yotsuya Stations. The sites offer vital insights about Tokyo’s history from the early modern to the modern period. The map on the left traces the path of early modem Japan’s “Five Routes,” which radiated out in all directions from central Edo’s Nihon-bashi Bridge, and indicates the location of the city’s entrance gates and post stations on its periphery. The second map is a jurisdictional map indicating the territories under the authority of the Edo City Governor. It shows that areas inside the Yamanate Line comprised the city center and that the city area extended over a vast space that stretched far east as present-day Kinshicho Station.
喰違(The Remains of Kuichigai Gate)外堀で唯一土塁を組み合わさせた門で、1612(慶長17)年に完成しました。現在も原形を確認できます。
赤坂門跡(The Remains of Akasaa-mon Gate)江戸城外郭門で、1639(寛永16)年に完成しました。石垣は一部現存し、福岡黒田家の刻印がみられます。
飯田橋周辺案内図
牛込駅(千代田区側)駅舎跡
牛込駅(千代田区側)駅舎跡 甲武鉄道時代、ここには牛込駅の出入口がありました。 現在でも、当時作られた駅舎の左右にあった石積み擁壁がそのまま残されており、見ることができます。 The Remains of Ushigome Station 石積み擁壁 高低差のある土地で土砂崩れを防ぐために設置し、石を積んだ壁。
牛込門枡形石垣跡の舗装表示 かって牛込門の枡形石垣があった位置が自然石舗装で表現されており、その大きさを体感することができます。 Remnants of Ushigome-mon Gate’s Stone Walls 枡形 ますがた。石垣で箱形(方形)につくった城郭への出入口。敵の侵入を防ぐために工夫された門の形式で、城の一の門と二の門との間にある2重の門で囲まれた四角い広場で、奥に進むためには直角に曲がる必要がある。出陣の際、兵が集まる場所であり、また、侵入した敵軍の動きをさまたげる効果もある。
石に刻まれた印
石に刻まれた印 かつて牛込門の枡形石垣を構成していた石垣石が移設展示されています。 枡形石垣の整備を担当した徳島藩蜂須賀阿波守の刻印とみられるものが確認できます。 Inscriptions on the Stone
江戸城外堀跡散策案内図
江戸城外堀跡散策案内図
散策モデルルート Aルート:「外堀散策ルート」Edo Castle’s Outer Moat
周囲14kmの江戸城外堀を史跡中心に巡ります。 This walk visits heritage sites along the outer moat’s 14-kilometer periphery Bルート:「江戸城内ルート」Edo Castle
牛込門から北の丸の田安門を経て旧江戸城本丸跡を巡ります。 Departing from Ushigome-mon Gate, this walk passes through the Northern Citadel’s Tayasu-mon Gate before visiting the remains of Edo Castle’s Inner Citadel. Cルート:「外堀水辺散策ルート」The Outer Moat Riverside Walk
神田川と日本橋川にある鉄道遺産などを巡ります。 This route visits sites along the Kanda and Nihonbashi Rivers relates to local railroad development.
The section of the outer moat located between Ushigome to Ichigaya was constructed by utilizing the topography of the Kanda River valley. In addition, because the Yotsuya and Kojimachi sections of the moat were located on a ridgeline, which cut across the Kanda Plateau, moat construction in those areas required the execution of a large-scale infrastructure project in which sections of the Plateau were removed and the moat was extended to the valley in the vicinity of the reservoir on the Akasaka side. Groups of domainal lords were mobilized to carry out the project and each group was required to remove a predetermined amount of earth from the plateau. The outer moat reached its highest point in the vicinity of Kuichigai Gate. From there, the water level gradually lowered as it passed through the channels linking Sanada-bori Moat with the Kanda River. In order to control the flow of water and prevent flooding, weirs were constructed to around gates, such as Ushigome-mon Gate, which were located on earthen bridges. These weirs were then utilized to control the water level in the moat. Furthermore, utilizing the natural topography, large earthen fortifications were constructed by building up sections of the Kanda Plateau on the present-day Chiyoda Ward side of the moat in order to improve the Castle’s defenses. That project resulted in the establishment of a steep embankment. Edo Castle’s outer moat boasts a total length of approximately 14 kilometers. The approximately 4-kilometer, 38-hectare section between Ushigome and Akasaka Gates is a designated as a National Historic Site. Visitors to the site can see the ingeniously constructed outer moat filled with water, the stone walls of the Castle’s outer gates, and the shape of its earthen fortifications.