or Spectacles Bridge, over the
Nakashima River (中島川) was built in
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...
in 1634 by the
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
monk Mokusunyoujo who was in the second generation of Chinese monks living at
Kofukuji Temple. It is said to be the oldest stone
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
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 ...
along with Edo's
Nihonbashi
is a business district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan which grew up around the bridge of the same name which has linked two sides of the Nihonbashi River at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603. The current ...
bridge and Iwakuni's
Kintaikyou bridge and has been designated as an
Important Cultural Property. Megane Bridge is also part of the first group of bridges built over Nakashima river. Megane Bridge is made of stone and is a double arch bridge. It received the nickname "Spectacles Bridge" because its two arches and their reflection in the water create the image of a pair of spectacles. Vehicles are prohibited from crossing the bridge and is strictly prohibited to pedestrians only.
On July 23, 1982, a disastrous deluge washed away six of the ten stone bridges over the Nakashima River. Meganebashi was badly damaged but almost all the original stones were retrieved and the bridge was restored to its original appearance. As well as being damaged in a flood in 1982 another flood in 1647 destroyed Megane Bridge but was rebuilt the following year in 1648 by Koumu Hirado.
There is a similar but larger "
Spectacles Bridge" in
Isahaya Park
Isahaya Park (also known as Azalea Park) is in Isahaya in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It was built on