Title Kaitoro Bridge

  • Kyoto
Topic(s):
Historic Sites/Castle Ruins
Medium/Media of Use:
Web Page
Text Length:
≤250 Words
FY Prepared:
2021
Associated Tourism Board:
Shinshū Ōtani-ha

回棹廊


渉成園の中心である印月池の北の島と池の北岸を結ぶ橋は、古くからこの庭園の見どころとされてきた。現在の橋は1884年に架けられたもので、屋根は中国風のデザインに檜皮葺きなどの日本的な要素を加えたものになっている。このような中国と日本の美意識の融合は庭園の随所に見られ、17世紀に儒学者・詩人・書道家である石川丈山(1583-1672)が手がけたとされるオリジナルのデザインを彷彿とさせる。


橋の中央にある展望台の上の屋根部分には、優雅な装飾的な曲線の破風がある。また展望台の天井には、提灯を吊るすためのフックがある。この提灯は、日没後に庭園を訪れる客のために灯されたもので、客の中には小舟で池を渡り、庭園内の茶室に向かう者もいた。


Kaitoro Bridge


The bridge connecting the northernmost island in Ingetsuchi Pond, the central feature of Shoseien, with the pond’s north shore has been considered a highlight of the garden for centuries. The current bridge dates to 1884 and is distinguished by its roof, which combines a Chinese-inspired design with typically Japanese elements such as surfaces covered with shingles of hinoki cypress bark. This fusion of Chinese influences and Japanese aesthetics can be seen throughout the garden and reflects its original seventeenth-century design, thought to be the work of the Confucian scholar, poet, and calligrapher Ishikawa Jozan (1583–1672).


The roof section above the raised viewing platform in the middle of the bridge features elegant decorative curved gables. There is a hook in the ceiling above the viewing platform that was used to hang a lantern. The lantern was lit for guests visiting the garden after dark, some of whom would be ferried across the pond in a small boat on their way to one of the garden’s teahouses.


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