Kanda River

A river that flows from east to west through the Tokyo metropolitan area. It is a branch of the Sumida River. It is 25.48 km long. It generally refers to the area from the confluence of the Edo River (the downstream of the former Kanda Aqueduct) and the outer moat (near Iidabashi) to the confluence with the Sumida River near Ryogokubashi, but with the revision of the River Law in 1965 (Showa 40), the entire river, including the former Kanda Aqueduct, came to be called the Kanda River. Its tributaries are the Zenpukuji River and the Myoshoji River. It was artificially excavated in 1616 (Genwa 2) to serve as an outer moat, and was completed in 1660 (Manji 3). The area around Ochanomizu is a plateau called Kandayama, and the name of the river is said to have come from the fact that it was excavated here or that it flows through Kanda. It was also called Sendai-bori because the Date clan of the Sendai domain was in charge of excavating it. Until the Meiji period, there were many riverbanks and they were used for boat transport. The area that forms the border between Bunkyo Ward and Chiyoda Ward is a scenic area.

[Kiyoshi Sawada]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

東京都区部を東西に流れる川。隅田川(すみだがわ)の一支流。延長25.48キロメートル。一般には、江戸川（旧神田上水の下流部）と外堀の合流点（飯田橋(いいだばし)付近）から、両国橋近くの隅田川合流点までをいうが、1965年（昭和40）の河川法の改正で、旧神田上水を含めてすべて神田川とよばれるようになった。支流に善福寺川(ぜんぷくじがわ)、妙正寺川(みょうしょうじがわ)がある。1616年（元和2）外堀の役割を兼ねて人工的に開削し、1660年（万治3）完成した。御茶ノ水付近は神田山とよぶ台地で、ここを切り開いたこと、または神田を流れることが川の名のおこりという。開削には仙台藩伊達(だて)氏があたったので仙台堀ともよばれた。明治のころまでは多くの河岸(かし)があって舟運に利用された。文京区と千代田区の境をなす部分は風致地区となっている。

［沢田　清］

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