The View from "Shiomi-zaka"

　In the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace before Palaceside Building stands "Shiomi-zaka," a slope descending from the keep platform toward Otemon and Hirakawa Gate.

　"If not for the Otemachi skyline, could we see Tokyo Bay (Edo Bay) from here?" I wondered—but the sign says the sea visible from Shiomi-zaka was Hibiya Inlet. Tokyo Bay is Tokyo Bay, yet the inlet reached north to Otemachi with its mouth near Shinbashi. Wadakuramon Gate stands in the outer gardens: "Wada" means "sea," where warehouses faced the water.

　In the early Edo period, the 1600s, land reclamation of Hibiya Inlet was "tenka fushin" (public works for the realm), and daimyo mansions spread around Otemachi.

　Estimates say a magnitude-7-class earthquake under Tokyo has a 70 percent chance within four years, with the northern Tokyo Bay as one possible epicenter. A tsunami like the 2011 disaster could strike the capital; risks to underground streets and subways are noted. Repeated evacuation drills matter. Hibiya Inlet means Tokyo Station, Marunouchi, and Otemachi were all seaside 400 years ago—tsunami cannot be ruled out.

　Descending Shiomi-zaka, I could not help praying for the peace of the capital—Edo, or Tokyo.