Speaking of “Kintaikyo Bridge” is not an exaggeration to say that it is a tourist attraction representing the Iwakuni area of Yamaguchi Prefecture. This bridge of five arches is a bridge that could be made at the end of the hard work of those days as a bridge that does not flow. Moreover, its beauty is drawn as a theme by Utagawa Hiroshige, Katsushika Hokusai etc, who were representative painters of the Edo era, and it is said to be a miracle bridge.
“Kintaikyo Bridge” is one of the most beautiful wooden bridges with five arches, and there is a scenic view from the riverbank, and pilgrimage boats and the traditional construction method supporting the bridge is a highlight.
“Kintaikyo Bridge” is a bridge over the Nishiki River that flows through Iwakuni-shi, Yamaguchi Prefecture. In 1673, it was built as a bridge connecting castle town spreading on both banks. A beautiful sight that five consecutive wooden arch bridges weave is also counted as one of the three Japanese bridges and is also designated as a scenic spot of the country.
Until the “Kintaikyo Bridge” was completed, it was repeated that the bridge overflowed at the time of flooding even if a bridge was crossed. Research was repeated under the wish of “bridge not flowing” and it was said that it was built with the hint of “a continuous islet and a bridge connecting it” that was in the picture “Seiko Yuran Shi” of the Ming dynasty. It is made of the best civil engineering construction technology at the time, in particular the sophistication and strength of the arch part seems to be comparable to modern technology.
In addition, the area around the bridge is also a famous place of cherry blossom in spring and autumnal leaves in autumn. Especially in the west side of the river there are about 3,000 cherry blossoms including the surrounding parks. In line with the time of full bloom from the end of March to the beginning of April, many people rush to see the collaboration between cherry blossoms and Kintaikyo Bridge.
The Kintaikyo Bridge (the brocade belt bridge) is one of the three great bridges in Jiangnan. It is said that “the mountain is Fuji, the waterfall is Nachi, and the bridge is Kintai”, it was designated as National Scenic Beauty in 1922. It is wooden bridges depicting five arches of length 193.3m, width 5m, height of 6.6m. if you visit here, please land on the riverbank and see the back side of the bridge from there. You can see “the technique of wooden frame construction” that using metal of winding and iron clamp without the nails.
Iwakuni feudal lord “Kikkawa Hiroyoshi” made first Kintai-kyo Bridge in 1673. It has been lost in running water by a flood in the next year, but it was rebuilt promptly, and it has existed for 276 years until it has been lost by the typhoon of 1950.
The structure of the arched bridge is precise and original, judging from modern bridge engineering, it is said that it is perfect.
A rebuilding campaign by many citizens grows, it was rebuilt in 1953 spending two years after the disaster. Afterwards, the entirely newly renovation of the bridge started from 2001 through 2004, the current bridge is the fourth generation. It create wonderful scenery against clear stream of the Nishiki River and green of Shiroyama.
According to the name of “the brocade”, you can enjoy the scenery which is full of the colors of the four seasons as for the cherry trees in spring, cormorant fishing and the night view of fireworks in summer, leaves turn red in autumn and the winter with snow covering.
Information
| Name: | Kintaikyo Bridge |
| Adresse: | Iwakuni Iwakuni, Yamaguchi 741-0062 Japan |
| Access: | JR Iwatoku-sen Line “Kawanishi-eki Station” (20 minutes walk) |
| Tel: | (+81) 827-29-5116 (Tourism Promotion Division Kintaikyo World Heritage Promotion Office) |
| Price/Charge: | Free |
| Official site: | http://kintaikyo.iwakuni-city.net/ |
