The Story of the Ginza Line

今年は地下鉄銀座線が昭和２年に浅草─上野間で東京地下鉄により開業してからちょうど90年です。浅草の冨士さんの地下鉄の思い出はどういうものですか？

私は小学校から越境入学で、番町小学校、麴町中学校に通い、慶應は志木高からなんです。だから、全部通学が地下鉄（銀座線）なんですよ。確か小学１年生のときに初乗り７円くらいだったと思いますね。

いつ頃のことですか。

昭和30年くらい。改札口で切符切りがチョッキンチョッキンやるようになったのが小学校の４、５年くらいですかね。浅草から銀座線に乗って、神田で中央線に乗って四ツ谷までという行き方だったんですけど、途中から丸ノ内線（昭和29年より開業）ができて赤坂見附で乗り換えるルートができたんです。

僕は新宿区の落合の生まれですが、子供の頃の地下鉄は銀座線と丸ノ内線だけでしたね。銀座に出かけるときは、うちはだいたい新宿から丸ノ内線に乗っていた。

慶應高校に入って、日吉から銀座に出るときは、もう日比谷線がオリンピックのころにできていたので（昭和39年全通）、それを使っていた。銀座線というのは常に使う路線ではなかったんですが、赤坂見附でホームのすぐ向こう側にいる電車だったり、渋谷で外に出てくるところをよく眺めていました。

それと、僕は小・中学生くらいまで結構記念乗車券を集めていて、昭和43年、銀座線60両更新記念の記念乗車券も持っているんです（笑）。よく乗ったのは、僕の世代だとやっぱり2000形なんですよね。

昭和43年ですと開業当時から活躍した1000形などの車両を60両くらい置き換えた頃ですね。

昔は、自動ドアの引き込むところがゴムではなくて、小学生が手を引き込まれて挟んじゃったっていうのがずいぶんありましたね。それで泣いている子がいて。

初期の車両は、つり革がピーンとバネになっていて、上の柄のところまでプラスチック製で、スプリングでバーンといくんだよね。中学生ぐらいのときは面白がって遊んでいた（笑）。

あのタイプは一長一短あり、後に更新する際に、汎用タイプに取り換えました。

このつり革は何という名前なんですか。

リコ式というんです。

その頃は、荷物棚は網でしたよね。

そうそう。ちゃんとした本物の網棚だった。

あと、途中で点灯するおなじみの予備灯。2000形まで付いていました。いつ頃まで走っていたのでしたっけ。

平成５年の７月までです。その後、01系に統一されました。

ステンレスのオレンジ帯に。

私は、普通部に入学した平成元年から高等学校を出るまで６年間、表参道から渋谷までの１駅だけを毎日乗っていました。ちょうどオレンジの在来形から01系に変わる過渡期にあたりますね。

父も祖父も大変鉄道好きでしたので、他界した祖父が遺していた古いものがありまして。現在の銀座線は、元は東京地下鉄道と東京高速鉄道という別々の会社の路線だったのですが、これは直通運転を始めた頃の案内ですね。

昭和14年頃ですか。

こういうのは、やはりひところの「メトロニュース」みたいに、改札脇に置いてあったものなんですか。

これは駅置きだったようです。よくも悪くもさすが銀座線、いまも昔も変わらないようなところが結構ありますね。

私は、ハガキの大きさくらいの一言メモといって何か書いてあるものが駅に置いてあったのを覚えています。毎週それを読むといろいろなことが分かるというものでした。

銀座線って、浅草から行くと末広町まではみんなプラットホームが向かい合わせなんですよね。あれはきっと簡単だから道路の真下を掘っていたんでしょうね。道路からそのまま降りると乗り口がある。神田に行くと初めて真ん中にホームがあるんです。

いま思えば、すごく浅い地下ですもんね。

階段を降りるとすぐに駅になってしまう。

浅草の人にとって、銀座線というのはどんな感じなんですか。

僕らの世代の連中は、浅草からあまり出ないんですよ。僕が地下鉄に初めて乗ったときには、浅草寺の本堂がまだない頃なんです。

戦災で焼けてしまって。

雷門はない、本堂はない、五重塔はないって、ないないづくしの浅草だったんですよ。そのうちだんだん、僕が小学３年生の昭和33年くらいに本堂ができて、その後、雷門が35年にできた。

冨士さんもご存じの、僕の同級生の豊田君という仲見世の靴屋さんのご両親は、空襲のときに銀座線を防空壕代わりに使ったと言っていました。

もっと線を伸ばそうとしたのか駅を広げようとしたのか知りませんが、浅草駅の先に広い地下があるはずだって、うちの祖父なんか言っていましたね。

その奧に逃げたということですか。

そうでしょうね。戦後、ＧＨＱのジープが落っこちたとか、そんな話もあったくらいで（笑）。

三ノ輪までの延伸計画がずっとありましたよね。

いま、待乳山（まつちやま）（本龍院）の方向に実は地下鉄が変電所をつくって、折り返し線を延伸する計画をしているそうなんです。でもそれなら何でもっと先まで線を伸ばすことを考えないかなと思っているんです。

延ばして出口を言問通りを越したところにも作ってくれると、もっと浅草は面白くなると思っているんだけど。最近乗降客がすごい数になっているので、浅草駅は降車専門と乗車専門にホームを分けるという話があるくらいなんですよ。

そうなんですか。

われわれが学生の頃の銀座線というのは、帰りは上野で人がザーッと減るんです。そこから浅草までというのは、もうガラガラの電車だったんですね。最近ですよ、いっぱいになっているのは。

特に一番ひどかったのは、オリンピックの直後ですね。カラーテレビが普及してしまったので、映画街が全部駄目になって、人が来なくなってしまったんです。

週刊誌に「斜陽 浅草」とデカデカと書かれて、人っ子一人いない６区の写真を見開きで出されて。

神田には割と最近まで、須田町の地下鉄ストアの名残の商店街が残っていましたよね。古い洋品屋さんなんかがありました。

2011年までは一部のテナントはあったようです。

そうですか。20年くらい前はまだ須田町デパートとか、入口に看板が残っていましたよね。

浅草の１番出口のところも地下鉄デパートと言ったでしょう。川端康成の『浅草紅團』は、あの上をねじろにしているんですよね。

そうそう。これですよ（写真）。

これらのビルは地下鉄（東京地下鉄道、営団）がちゃんと経営していたんです。雷門食堂、上野構内食堂、上野須田町ストア。これらは全部直営です。

いま浅草にある建物はリメークはしていますが、規模は当時とほぼ変わらないですね。中身は全部建て替えたみたいなものですけどね。

この地下鉄ビルは雷門もなかった頃は、それこそ浅草のシンボル的な建物でした。

地下鉄ビルは戦争でも焼けなったわけですよね。

焼けてないですね。相当古い建物でした。１階に歯医者さんがあったときにそこに通っていた。ガタガタの建物だったな。

関東大震災でエレベーターのついていた十二階（凌雲閣）が崩れてしまってから、浅草のシンボル的な存在だったとよく言われますね。

そうですね。でも、雷門を昭和35年に松下幸之助さんが約100年ぶりに建ててくれた。提灯というのは奉納する人の名前を書くのが当たり前なんですが、でも松下さんは「雷門」と書いてくれた。あれが「松下」と書かれていたらいまの雷門はないです。

浅草は、山手線が浅草を通ろうとしたら、浅草の人が大反対して蹴ってしまったんですよ。それで何もないところだったので、地下鉄だから、新しいからよかったんじゃないですか。

東武が隅田川の橋を越えてくるのはいつなんですか。

あれは、銀座線開業のあと、昭和６年くらいじゃないですか。

銀座線のほうが先輩。

あの東武のビルも古いですね。戦争でもあそこに逃げ込んだと言っていますから。

松屋ビルのこと？　松屋もすごいですよね。その時代の写真を見ると、本当に巨大軍艦が川沿いにいるという感じですよね。

一大テーマパークですよね。屋上は遊園地だし、途中に劇場はあるし、結婚式場があったり写真館があったり。

その当時は、やはり浅草が東京で１、２を争う繁華街なんですね。

At a stamp shop called Fukuo Stamp in Harajuku, they sold something called a "Department Store Tour Ticket" in addition to stamps, so I bought it. It includes department stores along the Ginza Line, like Matsuzakaya.

The timing is a bit different from the one my grandfather had. I've heard that these have existed since before the through-service started, and the range of department stores covered varies depending on the period.

So this one is from 1939 (Showa 14)?

I've heard they were first put on sale in 1933 (Showa 8).

After that, the line extended to Ginza, so the Sudacho Store in Kanda was dropped. Maybe they figured it was fine since it was their own property (laughs)?

Normally, you can't get off at intermediate stations with a subway ticket, but it seems you could with this specific ticket.

That's right. That's why there are punch marks at every stop, isn't it?

Until around when did this "Department Store Tour" exist?

I wonder until when it was.

When it first opened, it was like an automatic turnstile where you put in money to pass through, right?

Yes. You just dropped the money in with a "clink."

That turnstile is in the Subway Museum in Kasai, isn't it? The New York City Subway used things like that until quite recently.

There was one in Asakusa, and the layout is exactly the same as it is now.

However, they stopped the flat-fare system before the war, and furthermore, those turnstiles were removed during the war for scrap metal collection, so I've heard they were only seen for a very short period.

The underground passage that goes diagonally next to Asakusa is the oldest, isn't it? There's a sauce yakisoba shop there.

That's right.

If you walk all the way along, there are remnants of old stairs exposed next to the current stairs, aren't there?

Those aren't remnants. Most likely, there was a stone so large they couldn't move it. It's just left as it was.

Water is still dripping there even now, so it must have been the sea originally.

Are they still using the old enclosure for the Asakusa-side entrance at Inaricho? There was a classic tiled one.

It's under construction now. I passed by just two or three days ago and it was closed for work, so I was sent out the opposite side.

Since old things are popular now, they might be restoring it.

It seemed like they wanted to give it a retro feel. I wonder about just doing the surface, though.

Behind the driver's seat of the first train car displayed at the Subway Museum, there's a sign that says "No Spitting." I wonder until when those were written. Is the car at the Subway Museum an original?

It's the real thing, not a replica. However, it seems some small parts like plates have been restored.

They were yellowish at first, which is why the current retro-style 1000 series is yellow. The 2000 series we used to ride was actually closer to orange.

There are records showing that the color gradually got darker over time.

In the 1970s, there was quite a bit of variation in the paint, wasn't there?

There was.

Deep orange, yellow, and so on. Is there any talk of bringing back the Marunouchi Line's sine wave?

They'll be replacing the train cars starting in 2018, so it will be interesting to see what kind of cars come out then.

Did people start calling it the "Ginza Line" only after the Marunouchi Line was built?

There's a record from 1953, just before the Marunouchi Line opened, stating it would be called the "Ginza Line."

Because when there's only one, you don't need a name.

What did people call it?

It was just "the subway." Or rather, "the train." Since we were kids, if we said, "I take the train to school," people would be like, "Wow, that's amazing." People used to call the National Railways "Shosen," right?

Indeed, looking at old documents, everything is just written as "the subway."

When people said subway, they meant the Ginza Line.

On the old Ginza Line, what was the actual mechanism behind the interior lights going out and the emergency lights coming on? Was it because of the gaps in the tracks?

It uses a third rail at the bottom to get electricity, but there are sections where it draws power from the left side of the track and sections from the right. At the points where it switches between left and right, there are sections where it doesn't draw power from either side to prevent overlap. So, when the train reaches a section where it can't draw power, the lights go out.

So the sections where they went out were fixed.

Yes, that's right.

They always went out when leaving Asakusa.

The cars that went dark were up to the 2000 series.

Has the mechanism for power supply remained the same even now?

It hasn't changed, but the reason the interior lights on current cars no longer go out is that the cars themselves have been improved through technological progress. I have very strong memories of those lamps from when I was young, and when the cars were being retired, there was a parts sale. I lined up for hours to buy one.

I found it after rummaging around. I plan to install it once I have a proper house (laughs).

That's nice. Is this the one that was on the 2000 series?

To be honest, I think it might be from the Marunouchi Line of the same period. There are both frosted glass types and non-frosted ones.

It seems these emergency lights are also on the retro-style 1000 series trains now, but I wonder how faithfully they've reproduced them.

Is "emergency light" the accurate name?

The terminology varies quite a bit, but many descriptions use "emergency light."

Those retro-interior cars feel a bit overdone.

I heard they even turn the lights off on purpose? To recreate the old days.

That's right. It's for the performance.

Around when was air conditioning introduced?

The early 01 series didn't have it. Eidan's initial policy for air conditioning was tunnel cooling. The Ginza Line started having it from 1990 (Heisei 2).

That's right. It was tunnel cooling.

It's hot when you get on the train.

Other lines were a few years earlier, but the Ginza Line has a small tunnel cross-section, so they couldn't install it until the technology for thin air conditioners to mount on the cars was established.

It's hot when you get on, but somehow, looking back, that lukewarm breeze is a unique summer tradition of that era (laughs).

That's right. When you go above the subway, a lukewarm breeze comes blowing through.

Akio Jissoji, the Ultraman director and a railway enthusiast, often talked about how the Marunouchi Line side of Akasaka-mitsuke was very sci-fi just before the line opened, because it was a cave without tracks. That space must have been completed before the war.

I think that kind of thing served as a hint for Ultra Q or something. You know, the underground-themed ones.

That's true. Also, this is famous, but there is a phantom Shimbashi Station. They still open it up when there are events.

The Tokyo Underground Railway coming from Asakusa and the Tokyo Rapid Railway coming from Shibuya didn't get along, so even after they connected at Shimbashi, they didn't do through-service for a while, right?

Yes, that's right. That's why there were two Shimbashi Stations.

The phantom platform was, so to speak, a temporary terminal station for the Tokyo Rapid Railway line that connected Shibuya to Shimbashi. If they had cooperated and run through-service from the start, that platform wouldn't have been necessary.

The Tokyo Underground Railway was trying to go toward Shinagawa instead of Shibuya, wasn't it?

The Tokyo Rapid Railway cars were green and ivory, I believe. Did those run even after through-service began?

Those were the 100 series cars. The cars themselves continued to run even after through-service started, until they were replaced in 1968.

They ran in green and ivory until around 1965?

The colors were repainted.

I see. I would have liked to ride in those colors too.

Also, the old platforms still remain at Omotesando Station. Until the Hanzomon Line was built, you had to go above ground once to transfer between the Ginza Line and the Chiyoda Line.

They built a platform on the Asakusa side of the old station to allow for cross-platform transfers. When you leave the Ginza Line's Omotesando Station, you can see the ruins of the old Omotesando Station.

It was originally named Jingumae Station, wasn't it? Then, because the Chiyoda Line's Omotesando Station was built, the Ginza Line changed its name too (in 1972).

Was there also a period when it was called Aoyama-rokuchome?

In the early days, for about a year before it became Jingumae, that was the case.

Surprisingly, there aren't many subway stations in Tokyo that have changed their names. In 그 sense, this might be the only station that changed twice, from Aoyama-rokuchome to Jingumae, and then to Omotesando.

Then there's Shibuya. Originally, the Ginza Line was planned to go beyond Shibuya to Futako-tamagawa via what was called the old Shin-Tamagawa Line.

The Futako-tamagawa station had the tracks on the inside when the Shin-Tamagawa Line was built, but because the original purpose was to run the Ginza Line through and have it turn back at that station, they built it with that structure, and only in the last 20 years did they swap the inside and outside. I suppose they built it too hastily.

Shibuya Station is moving toward Hikarie, isn't it? For me, the Ginza Line is the view of the elevated bridge coming out over the streets of Shibuya. Looking at it from there is the most "Ginza Line" thing. That exposed feeling really hasn't changed for a long time.

That's true.

Even in movies from just after the end of the war, you can see the Ginza Line coming out of that bridge beyond piles of rubble.

Nikkatsu movies from the 1950s and 60s often used the area next to the Shibuya depot for scenes where punks would fight. I think it was the second film in the "Ginza no Wakadaisho" series.

Yuzo Kayama plays a cook in Ginza, but the place where he fights is next to the Shibuya depot (laughs).

It must have been a good filming location.

Yes. It was quite a seedy area, really full of nothing but short-stay hotels right next to it.

I don't have much memory of movies or TV shows showing the inside of Ginza Line cars. "You Only Live Twice" uses Marunouchi Line cars. They take the Marunouchi Line to go to the Spectre base in Japan (laughs). I heard before that it was filmed on the Honancho branch line.

The Marunouchi Line opened as far as Nishi-ginza in 1957. At that time, Ginza Station and Nishi-ginza Station were still different stations.

When the Hibiya Line was fully completed in 1964, it became the current Ginza Station by connecting both stations. All the subways at that time passed through Ginza. It makes me think, "As expected of Ginza."

Everyone heads toward Ginza. Since they are lines going to the city center, they were named Ginza, Marunouchi, and Hibiya. Heading toward those places.

Gradually, easy-to-understand place names ran out, and names like Tozai or Chiyoda became more vague (laughs). For a long time, the Toei lines were called by numbers, like Line 1 and Line 6.

Public transport is slow to get nicknames. I recall Osaka got nicknames only after reaching about Line 4.

Osaka has the Midosuji Line from before the war, too. That one is quite old.

The Yotsubashi Line also opened just before the war, so their second line was earlier than Tokyo's.

The Ginza Line is now seen as having medium-sized cars, but when it was first built, they were by no means small.

The length of the cars is short, isn't it?

It's 16 meters per car. Eidan lines from the Tozai Line onward are 20 meters. Large 20-meter cars have a greater advantage in terms of being able to run through-service with suburban private railways.

The Oedo Line is narrower, isn't it?

Yes. The length isn't much different from Ginza Line cars. While more and more large 20-meter cars are being introduced, there's a partial swing back toward medium-sized cars, mainly in public transport, to save on construction costs.

Suburban trains running directly into the subway is a major characteristic of Japan, especially Tokyo.

Do other countries not have through-service? When I first saw the Odakyu Romancecar entering the Chiyoda Line, I felt a bit of a shock (laughs). That blue one.

As suburbanization progressed due to population growth in the Tokyo area, the Hibiya Line introduced cars from the planning stage based on the premise of mutual through-service with other companies' lines, and subsequent lines followed suit. There probably isn't another country with such extensive mutual through-service.

I see. The Hibiya Line is built on the assumption of through-service. The Tobu side goes deep into Saitama and Tochigi.

I suppose the policy switched to that after the Olympics.

Perhaps even before that. It was around the 1960s when the population of the Tokyo area was increasing by 500,000 every year. At that time, they were quite systematic about laying railways, creating residential areas in the suburbs, and thinking about how to handle commuting, so I think they had foresight. However, the actual volume of transport far exceeded their assumptions.

The Ginza Line was built early, so it was left behind by that trend and became a precious existence.

It passed through Tokyo's first top-tier commercial districts. The stretch between Ueno and Ginza is the Chuo-dori road that continues from the Tokaido. The area where the Ginza Line runs is the so-called Onari-dori, right? Route 1 of the city trams used to run above it.

Ginza and Asakusa of course, but the area around Manseibashi was also a commercial district. It feels like Akihabara flourished later as a result.

That's why they went to the trouble of building things like the statue of Commander Hirose there.

Exactly. Building something like that means that many people will come to see it.

Speaking of Keio and the Ginza Line, while there isn't a nearest station, it would still be Ginza.

Ginza, and maybe Shibuya. Also, Gaienmae has the Waseda-Keio rivalry at Jingu, and in the case of Asakusa, there's the regatta.

That's right.

Gaienmae was also called Aoyama-something-chome back in the day, wasn't it?

Aoyama-yonchome.

It was a sequence like the Tanimachi-something-chome in Osaka. Only Aoyama-itchome remained.

In a pamphlet produced by Tokyo Rapid Railway in 1939, it was already clearly listed as a baseball stadium. This was before the Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium existed.

Thankfully, seeing passengers who used to get off at Ueno now coming all the way through and boarding in large numbers from Asakusa, I think things have changed a lot and improved. The Ginza Line is truly a barometer of the city.

When going from my area to Asakusa for fun, getting on an empty car at the Shibuya starting station and being guaranteed a seat all the way to Asakusa makes it feel quite like a leisure trip.

It passes through neighborhoods with many different characters, so you never get tired of watching the passengers.

Railways that maintain a Tokyo locality in a good sense are becoming fewer and fewer. I live along the Inokashira Line, and the Inokashira Line is also relatively local. I want railways that run short distances within Tokyo to be cherished.

Also, station names like Inaricho and Tawaramachi preserve town names that no longer exist. Like Ueno-hirokoji. Hirokoji is a station name unique to the early Showa era. It's nice that those somewhat atmospheric station names remain.

It's very interesting how the brand aimed for at the time of opening continues to live on unchanged. Today, Tokyo Metro is just under 200 kilometers in total route length, and the first 15 kilometers of that is the Ginza Line.

While Tokyo's subways expanded rapidly, the Ginza Line reached its current fleet of 250 cars by around 1965, so it matured at a very early stage and has remained unchanged since then.

I believe the fact that it is a line that stays within Tokyo's 23 wards without any mutual through-service is, more than anything, the reason why the Ginza Line will remain unchanged in the future.