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All Japan Iwakuni Kintai Bridge

Kintai Bridge

One of Japan's most famous sights, the bridge was originally built in 1673.

Iwakuni, Japan

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Kintai Bridge. (Ken Spink/Atlas Obscura)  
Woodblock print of the bridge of the Brocade Sash at Iwakuni in Suo Province. (Ken Spink/Atlas Obscura)  
View of the bridge and Iwakuni from the cable car station. (Ken Spink/Atlas Obscura)  
Iwakuni Castle looks down at the bridge. (Ken Spink/Atlas Obscura)  
The under side of Kintai Bridge. (Wikimedia Commons)   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kintai_Bridge
Kintai Bridge at Cherry Blossom Time. (Wikimedia Commons)   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kintai_Bridge
Kintai Bridge. (Wikimedia Commons)   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kintai_Bridge
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A historical wooden arch bridge in the city of Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, the Kintai Bridge was built in 1673. With a series of five wooden arches, the bridge spans the Nishiki River. It is located at the foot of Mt. Yokotama, which is topped with the famous Iwakuni Castle. The castle was built in 1601 and overlooked a series of wooden bridges, all destroyed by spring floods before the Kintai bridge was completed.

The elegance of the bridge's form inspired the name Kintai, which means gold brocade sash because of a similarity to the traditional Nishiki obi for a kimono. It has been rebuilt several times since it was initially constructed even though it was thought to be indestructible, most recently in 1951 after a typhoon.

The bridge is made up of five arches standing atop four stone piers as well as two wood piers that sit on the dry riverbed where the bridge begins and ends. For almost three hundred years, the bridge stood without the use of nails that you would find in more traditional construction. It stood because all of its many pieces were very carefully fitted together. Sheets of copper were laid over the main wooden parts of the bridge after it was built.

Kintai remains Japan's most famous bridge. Tourists cross it on foot to visit samurai family-owned houses in Kikko Park, and take a cable car to the heights to visit Iwakuni Castle, and to see a breathtaking panorama of Iwakuni and the Seto Sea. Declared a National Treasure in 1922, the area including both the bridge and the castle is one of the country's most popular destinations, especially during the Cherry Blossom festival in the spring.

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From Iwakuni's JR station take the city bus to the "Kintai Bridge/Kikko Park" stop.

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Edited By

nbj914

  • nbj914

Published

March 29, 2011

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Sources
  • Wikipedia: Kintai Bridge: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kintai_Bridge
  • Japan Atlas: Historic Sites: Kintai Bridge: http://web-japan.org/atlas/historical/his18.html
  • Structurae: Kintai Bridge: http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?id=s0002032
Kintai Bridge
Kintai Bridge
Kikko Park
Iwakuni
Japan
34.166562, 132.218848
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