thumb|350px|Kintai Bridge

thumb|right|The bridge is lit up every day after sunset.

is a historical wooden arch bridge in the city of Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.

The pedestrian bridge was built in 1673, spanning the Nishiki River 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.

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. It was declared a National Treasure in 1922.

History

thumb|1856 woodprint of Kintai Bridge by [[Hiroshige, from the series Famous Views of the Sixty-odd Provinces]]

After Iwakuni Castle was completed in 1608 by Kikkawa Hiroie, the first lord of Iwakuni Domain, 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.

thumb|Kintai Bridge in flood, on or before 1946, photo sourced, or taken by Eric Soper, Royal Navy Signaller 2 July 1946

References

  • Kintai Bridge on bridge-info.org
  • Iwakuni Tourism
  • Pictures of Kintai-kyo
  • Iwakuni Kankou.com