October 12, 2008

• Ishibashi Park

  After seeing MIL off, Hubby wanted to visit a park with some old stone bridges.  We rode to the end of the line on the streetcar.  Here are three of them waiting to make the return trip into the city from Kagoshima Station.

  

  By way of explanation, I will quote one of the signs near Ishibashi park.  "Around 1840, the skilled mason Sangoro Iwanaga of Kumamoto was commissioned to build five stone bridges over the Kotsuki River.  These bridges are representative of Japanese stone bridge construction.  After the torrential rains of 1993 washed two bridges away, the remaining Nishida, Korai and Tamae bridges were relocated for historic preservation to Stone Bridges Monument Park."

  

  Here is a model of how the five stone arched bridges were located over the Kotsuki River in Kagoshima City.  There was flooding in the city in 1993, and two of the bridges were washed away, the one in the foreground, Takenohashi Bridge, and the Shinkanbashi Bridge which is second from the top of the picture.  The other three bridges were dismantled and moved to a safer location.

  

  This is Korai Bridge, the second from the bottom in the model picture.  The walls coming out from between the arches are "mizukiri ishi" or stones to cut and deflect the flow of the water from hitting the bridge broadside.

  

  This is Tamae Bridge, at the top of the model picture.

  

  On our way to the next bridge we pass by a statue commemorating a Japanese Naval Hero, Heihachiro Togo, who fought the Russians and won in 1905.  Following are some of the views that the statue enjoys.

  

  Here is one of Kagoshima's harbors.  No, that building to the right is not an opera house, it is the city aquarium.  You can see a ferry coming in.

  

  Turn to the left a bit and here is Sakurajima, the local volcano.

  

  Hubby climbs a hill to go and check out some castle relics while I wait with a local stray cat down below.  I think he was hungry, but not hungry enough to do more than sniff at the banana that I tried to share with him.  Besides that, all I could give him was luv.

  

  This is Nishida Bridge, and was located in the center between the other five bridges.  This was the biggest and most impressive, because the Lord of the region would use it when he traveled.  (The Lord of our castle seems to enjoy standing here.) There was a small museum next to the bridge, and it showed the entire dismantling and reconstruction process.  Before this bridge was relocated, it had been paved over with asphalt for vehicle traffic, but here one can see the original diagonally cut paving stones.

  

  

  Nishida Bridge and Sakurajima smoldering in the background

  

  This shows how it was done.  First, a wooden frame was laid in the river, then stones were laid over the frame.  More round wooden framework was built to support the arches as they were built.  The areas between the arches were filled in with dirt before being covered with a final layer of paving stones.

  

  

  It must be fun to play under a historical property! 

  

  Hub thinks that the city should pick up the stones from the other two washed out bridges and reconstruct them as well.

  • 08:32
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