The is a historical wooden

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...

, in the city of

Iwakuni is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. History Iwakuni was formerly the castle town of the Iwakuni han, which was formed by Lord Hiroie Kikkawa after he was banished there for supporting the defeated shōgun. The Kikkawa clan ruled ...

, in

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). Y ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The pedestrian bridge was built in 1673, spanning the

Nishiki River The is a 110 km long river, the longest in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. The Nishiki is the main river in a larger system measuring 331.8 km in total. The government of Japan classifies it as a second-class river system. The Nishiki Riv ...

in a series of five wooden arches. The bridge is located on the foot of Mt.Yokoyama, at the top of which lies

Iwakuni Castle is a replica castle in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Japan. The nearby Kintai Bridge was originally a footbridge over the Nishiki River to the main gate of the castle. History This castle was originally constructed by Kikkawa Hiroie from 1601 to 1608 as h ...

. Kikkou Park, which includes the bridge and castle, is a popular tourist destination in Japan, particularly during the Cherry blossom festival in the spring and the autumn color change of the Japanese maples (''momiji''). It was declared a

National Treasure The idea of national treasure, like national epics and national anthems, is part of the language of romantic nationalism, which arose in the late 18th century and 19th centuries. Nationalism is an ideology that supports the nation as the fundame ...

in 1922.

History

The Famous Scenes of the Sixty States 51 Suo

After

was completed in 1608 by

Kikkawa Hiroie (December 7, 1561 – October 22, 1626) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Azuchi–Momoyama period through early Edo period. Hiroie's father was Kikkawa Motoharu and his mother was a daughter of Kumagai Nobunao. Biography He initially w ...

, the first lord of

Iwakuni Domain The was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Suō Province (the south of present-day Yamaguchi Prefecture). List of lords *Kikkawa family ( Tozama, 60,000 koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent ...

, a series of wooden bridges was built. However, most of them were destroyed by floods several times before the construction of Kintai Bridge. Afterwards, Kintai Bridge was built by the third lord, Kikkawa Hiroyoshi in 1673. The new stone piers replaced the old wooden ones. Though thought to be flood-proof, the bridge was destroyed by a flood the next year. As a result, the stone piers were redesigned for greater strength, and a special tax was created to maintain the bridge. This maintenance involved periodically rebuilding the bridge: every 20 years for three spans in the middle, every 40 years for two spans that connect to the banks. Consequently, the footbridge remained intact for 276 years, until washed away again in a flood from typhoon "Kijia" in 1950. It was in a weakened state at the time, as the Japanese had stopped maintaining the bridge during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1953, the bridge was reconstructed similar to the original. In 1922, the bridge was declared a national treasure. Between 2001 and 2004, all five bridge girders were restored for the first time in 50 years.

Architecture

The bridge is composed of five sequential wooden arch bridges on four stone piers as well as two wooden piers on the dry riverbed where the bridge begins and ends. Each of the three middle spans is 35.1 meters long, while the two end spans are 34.8 meters for a total length of about 175 meters with a width of 5 meters.

Original construction

For nearly three hundred years, the many versions of the bridge stood without the use of metal nails. This was achieved by the careful fitting of the wooden parts and by the construction of the thick girders by clamping and binding them together with metal belts. The main wooden parts of the bridge were covered by sheets of copper for additional durability.

Flood protection

The shape and weight of the bridge made it extremely strong at the top, but incredibly weak from underneath. To address concern that flood waters rushing along the river would destroy the bridge in its entirety, the bridge was designed so that the wooden pathway merely "floats" on top of its frame using

mortise and tenon A mortise and tenon (occasionally mortice and tenon) joint connects two pieces of wood or other material. Woodworkers around the world have used it for thousands of years to join pieces of wood, mainly when the adjoining pieces connect at right ...

joints. This allowed rising flood waters to lift out the wooden pathway and carry it off down stream while sparing the main structure.Iwakuni Volunteer Tour Guides Association
/ref>

References

External links

Kintai Bridge on bridge-info.org

Iwakuni Tourism
(Japanese)
Pictures of Kintai-kyo
(Japanese)
Iwakuni Kankou.com
(Japanese) {{Coord, 34.167603, 132.178367, type:landmark, display=title Places of Scenic Beauty Bridges in Japan Tourist attractions in Yamaguchi Prefecture Buildings and structures in Yamaguchi Prefecture Roads in Yamaguchi Prefecture Toll bridges in Japan