[Sanjo Dori: Then and Now]
Sanjo Dori, where the Sanjo Showroom is located, was built with the construction of the Heian-kyo Capital and used to be called "Sanjo Oji." The residences of aristocrats and lodgings for government officials lined the street, and by the late Heian Period, there was a concentration of commercial and industrial establishments along the street, indicating that people had been coming and going from the area since that time.
In the Kamakura period (1185-1333), it became even more important as a highway connecting Kamakura, the seat of the samurai government, and Kyoto, the seat of the Imperial Court. The bridge across the Kamo River was also simple, but Toyotomi Hideyoshi built the stone-posted Sanjo Bridge. It was also around this time that the name of the street was changed from "Oji" to "Dori." With the construction of the Tokaido Highway by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the Sanjo Ohashi Bridge became the terminus of the Tokaido Highway and the main street of Kyoto, crowded with stores and inns.
In the Meiji era (1868-1912), a "road sign" was placed on Sanjo Ohashi to mark the starting point of the road, and as the center of Kyoto's modernization, modern buildings such as banks, newspaper companies, and post offices were built on the bridge. Walking along Sanjo Dori, one can still see many modern buildings such as the Kyoto Culture Museum Annex and the Chukyo Post Office. The Sacra Building, where the Sanjo Showroom is located, is one such building, a brick structure built around 1916 as the Kyoto branch of the former Fudo Savings Bank.
The three major projects of Kyoto City were planned from the end of the Meiji Era to the beginning of the Taisho Era, which included the construction of the second Lake Biwa Sosui Canal and waterworks, as well as the widening of roads and the opening of streetcars. Since it was difficult to construct brick and concrete buildings on Sanjo Dori, the narrow Shijo Dori was widened and streetcars were installed. The main street gradually shifted to Shijo Dori.
Today, Sanjo Dori has become a street with a distinctive landscape, where modern architecture has been reused, retaining the atmosphere of civilization and enlightenment, but also lined with old-fashioned townhouses. We hope you will enjoy walking around the area when you visit us.
Sanjo Showroom
https://www.shokunin.com/en/showroom/sanjo.html
References
http://www.sanjyo-kyo.jp/sanjyostr
http://www.mutsunohana.net/miyako/oji-koji/#etc2-19
http://jia-kyoto.org/children/sanjyohistry.html
