Yaesu

A district in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, east of Tokyo Station. Jan Joosten, a Dutch sailor who served Tokugawa Ieyasu, had a mansion here (currently located beside the moat of the Imperial Palace in Chiyoda Ward), and the name was derived from a corrupted version. In 1872 (Meiji 5), part of the Marunouchi district of Chiyoda Ward, on the west side of Tokyo Station, sandwiched between the inner and outer moats (current Sotobori-dori Street), became Yaesu-cho 1-2-chome. In 1884, Yaesu Bridge was built over the outer moat between Gofukubashi and Kajibashi, connecting Yaesu-cho in Kojimachi Ward with Nihonbashi and Kyobashi Wards (current Chuo Ward). In 1914 (Taisho 3), Tokyo Station opened adjacent to Yaesu-cho. In 1929 (Showa 4), the area around Yaesu-cho was renamed Marunouchi, and the name Yaesu disappeared for a time.

Currently, the east exit of Tokyo Station is called the Yaesu Exit (formerly the Yaesubashi Exit), but until World War II it was a poor back exit. After the war, the outer moat was filled in, and in 1954 (Showa 29) the Railway Hall was completed, housing the Daimaru department store, which increased the area's prosperity. In the same year, the name of the towns in Chuo Ward, which were once connected by Yaesubashi, was revised, and the name Yaesu was restored to the east side of Tokyo Station. The area is located between Tokyo Station, Nihonbashi, and Kyobashi, and many buildings line the area, forming part of the city center.

[Kiyoshi Sawada]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

東京都中央区、東京駅東側の地区。徳川家康に仕えた、漂着のオランダ人高級船員ヤン・ヨーステンの屋敷があり（現、千代田区の皇居内堀脇）、それがなまって地名となった。1872年（明治5）内堀と外堀（現在の外堀通り）に挟まれた現在の東京駅西側、千代田区丸の内地区の一部が八重洲町1～2丁目となった。1884年には呉服橋と鍛冶橋の間の外堀に八重洲橋が架橋され、麹町区八重洲町と日本橋区・京橋区（現、中央区）を結んだ。1914年（大正3）八重洲町に接して東京駅が開業。1929年（昭和4）八重洲町一帯が丸の内と改称、八重洲の地名はいったん消滅した。

　現在、東京駅東口を八重洲口（古くは「八重洲橋口」）というが、第二次世界大戦前までは裏口で貧弱だった。戦後、外堀が埋め立てられ、1954年（昭和29）鉄道会館が竣工(しゅんこう)、大丸デパートが入り、にぎわいを増した。同年にはかつて八重洲橋で結ばれていた中央区の町名改正で東京駅東側に八重洲の町名が復活。地区は東京駅と日本橋、京橋の間にあり、多くのビルが並んで都心の一部を形成している。

［沢田　清］

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