Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Spectacles Bridge

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Found this draincover in central Nagasaki, not far from the bridge depicted in the design.

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Its name, Meganebashi, means "spectacles bridge", for obvious reasons, and it is believed to be the oldest stone arch bridge in Japan. It was built in 1634 by a Chinese monk from the nearby Chinese temple, Kofuku-Ji.

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The buttresses of the central section of the bridge are covered in coins. I can only imagine that it is done for good luck.

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There are a total of ten stone bridges along the section of the Nakashima River that runs through central Nagasaki. During a major flood in 1982, 6 of them were destroyed. Badly damaged, all the original stones of Megane Bashi were found and so the bridge could be restored.

1 comment:

  1. Today i discovered these posts about bridges.
    They are superb!
    Thank you

    ReplyDelete