Tsūjun Bridge (通潤橋 ''-kyō'') is an aqueduct in

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan. Japanese his ...

Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a population of 1,461,000, ...

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 ...

. It is an

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 ...

completed in 1854 and is 84.0m long. The arch spans 27.3m. It is the largest stone aqueduct in Japan. The Japanese

Agency for Cultural Affairs The is a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). It was set up in 1968 to promote Japanese arts and culture. The agency's budget for FY 2018 rose to ¥107.7 billion. Overview The ag ...

has designated the bridge an Important Cultural Property.

History and technology

This bridge proves the high level of stone bridge technology in existence at the time of its construction.

Yasunosuke Futa was a village chief and also an architect in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. He built an aqueduct, Tsujun Bridge, which improved the fertility of the land. History Futa inherited the post of village chief at the age of twenty-three. At the age of ...

(1801–1873), who was the head of the then Yabe village, planned it and, after obtaining funding, succeeded in building the bridge in 1854 with the help of the group of 41 stone technicians and many farmers. Its purpose was to let water flow into a higher area (Shiroito Plateau) for farming. After placing wooden frames, stones were placed on the frames and three stone aqueducts were made. After that, the wooden frames were removed. Because the aqueducts were lower than the upper part of the waterway by , water a reversed siphon mechanism works when water flows through the aqueducts. The stone aqueducts were made watertight with mortar. The bridge was completed in 1854. Because the aqueduct is lower than the upstream and downstream waterways, sand and mud may accumulate in the aqueduct. To clean the accumulated dirt, the bridge is able to occasionally release water (and dirt) into the river below. This is mostly done in the farmers' off-season.

References

External links

YouTube Tuujunkyo

History and technology

References

External links

See also