The is a historical wooden
arch bridgeAn 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...
, in the city of
Iwakuniis a city located in Yamaguchi, Japan.On March 20, 2006, the old city of Iwakuni merged with the towns of Kuga, Mikawa, Miwa, Nishiki, Shūtō and Yū, and the village of Hongō to form the new, expanded city of Iwakuni.- History :...
, in
Yamaguchi Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Yamaguchi located in the center of the Prefecture: The largest city, by contrast, is Shimonoseki.- History :...
,
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
The bridge was built in 1673, spanning the beautiful
Nishiki RiverThe 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 River system drains an area of 884.2 km².The...
in a series of five wooden arches, and the bridge is located on the foot of Mt.Yokoyama and
Iwakuni Castleis a castle in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Japan.-History:This castle was constructed by Kikkawa Hiroie from 1601 to 1608 as his own castle.Kikkawa was a retainer of a vassal of the Shogun under the Mori clan...
is on the top of it.
The Kikkou Park including the bridge, is one of the popular places in Japan, specially for
sakuraA cherry blossom is the name for the flower of cherry trees known as Sakura in Japanese. In English, the word "sakura" is equivalent to the Japanese flowering cherry...
in spring and momiji in autumn.
- After Iwakuni Castle
is a castle in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Japan.-History:This castle was constructed by Kikkawa Hiroie from 1601 to 1608 as his own castle.Kikkawa was a retainer of a vassal of the Shogun under the Mori clan...
was built in 1601, by Kikkawa Hiroie' was a Japanese daimyo of the Azuchi-Momoyama period through early Edo period.Hiroie's father was Kikkawa Motoharu and his mother was a daughter of Kumagai Nobunao. He initially was named Tsunenobu and made his debut on the battle field on 1570 against Amago Katsuhisa with his father...
, the first lord of Iwakuni DomainThe ' was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Suō Province .-List of lords:*Kikkawa family #Hiroie#Hiromasa#Hiroyoshi#Hironori#Hiromichi#Tsunenaga#Tsunetomo#Tsunetada...
, former bridges with wooden piers were destroyed by floods several times.
- The Kintai Bridge was built in 1673, by Kikkawa Hiroyoshi, the third lord, the bridge base was made of stone to be proof against floods, without the wooden piers.
- The bridge was destroyed by flood in 1674.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Kintai Bridge' Start a new discussion about 'Kintai Bridge' Answer questions from other users |
The is a historical wooden
arch bridgeAn 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...
, in the city of
Iwakuniis a city located in Yamaguchi, Japan.On March 20, 2006, the old city of Iwakuni merged with the towns of Kuga, Mikawa, Miwa, Nishiki, Shūtō and Yū, and the village of Hongō to form the new, expanded city of Iwakuni.- History :...
, in
Yamaguchi Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Yamaguchi located in the center of the Prefecture: The largest city, by contrast, is Shimonoseki.- History :...
,
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
The bridge was built in 1673, spanning the beautiful
Nishiki RiverThe 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 River system drains an area of 884.2 km².The...
in a series of five wooden arches, and the bridge is located on the foot of Mt.Yokoyama and
Iwakuni Castleis a castle in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Japan.-History:This castle was constructed by Kikkawa Hiroie from 1601 to 1608 as his own castle.Kikkawa was a retainer of a vassal of the Shogun under the Mori clan...
is on the top of it.
The Kikkou Park including the bridge, is one of the popular places in Japan, specially for
sakuraA cherry blossom is the name for the flower of cherry trees known as Sakura in Japanese. In English, the word "sakura" is equivalent to the Japanese flowering cherry...
in spring and momiji in autumn.
History
- After Iwakuni Castle
is a castle in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Japan.-History:This castle was constructed by Kikkawa Hiroie from 1601 to 1608 as his own castle.Kikkawa was a retainer of a vassal of the Shogun under the Mori clan...
was built in 1601, by Kikkawa Hiroie' was a Japanese daimyo of the Azuchi-Momoyama period through early Edo period.Hiroie's father was Kikkawa Motoharu and his mother was a daughter of Kumagai Nobunao. He initially was named Tsunenobu and made his debut on the battle field on 1570 against Amago Katsuhisa with his father...
, the first lord of Iwakuni DomainThe ' was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Suō Province .-List of lords:*Kikkawa family #Hiroie#Hiromasa#Hiroyoshi#Hironori#Hiromichi#Tsunenaga#Tsunetomo#Tsunetada...
, former bridges with wooden piers were destroyed by floods several times.
- The Kintai Bridge was built in 1673, by Kikkawa Hiroyoshi, the third lord, the bridge base was made of stone to be proof against floods, without the wooden piers.
- The bridge was destroyed by flood in 1674. So, they rebuilt the bridge base much stronger, and rebuilt the bridge in the same year.
- To keep the bridge, it must be rebuilt periodically, every 20 years for 3 bridges in the middle, every 40 years for 2 bridges connected to the riverside.
- And special tax was required for the people to maintaine the bridge.
- Then the bridge was never destroyed by floods until 1950.
- The bridge was designated as one of the National treasures, Historic sites and places, in 1922.
- But flooding from the typhoon "Kezia" destroyed it in 1950.
- Because, they had to stopped to maintaine the bridge during the world war II.
- Also, in 1949, the year before the typhoon, to expand Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni
Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni or MCAS Iwakuni is a United States Marine Corps air station located in the Nishiki river delta, southeast of the Iwakuni Station
in the city of Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan....
, a large amount of gravelGravel is rock that is of a specific particle size range. Specifically, it is any loose rock that is larger than two millimeters in its smallest dimension and no more than . The next smaller size class in geology is sand, which is > in size. The next larger size is cobble, which is >. Gravel can...
was taken by US Military ForceThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States armed forces responsible for providing force projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
from the river around the bridge, and the stream power of the river has been changed stronger.
- The rebuilt bridge was reconstructed in 1953, using very similar techniques as the original, however today they have used some Japanese metal nails (same tatara iron as Katana
A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. These are categorised in several types according to size and method of manufacture...
).
- The bridge was partial restorated in 2001 and 2004, stands today.
Architecture
- The bridge is composed by five sequential wooden arch bridges on four stone built bases.
- Two of wooden bridges, connecting to both riverside, have wooden piers on the dry riverbed.
- The lenght of the tree middle bridges are 35.1 meters each, and the two side bridges are 34.8 meters.
- The width is 5 meters.
Construction
- Build up girders without metal nails.
- Clamp and bind the girders together with metal belts.
- Cover the main parts of the wooden structures by sheet coppers.
Flood protection
- The shape and weight of the bridge made it extremely strong from the top, but incredibly weak from underneath.
- The water rushing along the river during the typhoon simply lifted the bridge up and washed it downstream.
- And the bridge have the mortise joints to remove the wooden pathes from main part easily to protect the bridge bases.
- So after the bridge lost the wooden path, then the power of the storm onto the bridge bases become powerless.
Access
- Iwakuni Station
is a train station in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.-Adjacent stations:|-!colspan=5|JR West...
on Sanyo Main LineThe is the JR main railway line in western Japan, connecting Kobe Station and Moji Station, largely running parallel the coast of the Inland Sea, in other words the southern edge of western Honshū. The Sanyō Shinkansen line runs largely parallel to its route since 1972...
- Nishi-Iwakuni Station
is a train station in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.-Adjacent stations:|-!colspan=5|JR West...
or Kawanishi Stationis a train station in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.-Lines:*West Japan Railway Company**Gantoku Line*Nishikigawa Railway**Nishikigawa Seiryū Line-Adjacent stations:|-!colspan=5|JR West|-!colspan=5|Nishikigawa Railway...
on Gantoku LineThe is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company in western Japan connecting Iwakuni Station in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture and Kushigahama Station in Shūnan, Yamaguchi Prefecture....
- Shin-Iwakuni Station
is a train station in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.-Adjacent stations:|-!colspan=5|JR West...
on Sanyō ShinkansenThe is a line of the Japanese Shinkansen high-speed rail network, connecting Shin-Ōsaka in Osaka with Hakata Station in Fukuoka, the two largest cities in western Japan. Operated by the JR West, it is a westward continuation of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen and also serves other major cities in between...
- from the stations take a city bus or a taxi.
See also
- Iwakuni Castle
is a castle in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Japan.-History:This castle was constructed by Kikkawa Hiroie from 1601 to 1608 as his own castle.Kikkawa was a retainer of a vassal of the Shogun under the Mori clan...
- the bridge was placed as one of the gates of the castle
- 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 River system drains an area of 884.2 km².The...
- the bridge is across the river
External links