Eitai Bridge

Japanese: 永代橋 - えいたいばし

A bridge over the Sumida River. It connects Shinkawa in Chuo Ward, Tokyo and Saga in Koto Ward. In 1688, a wooden bridge was built to replace the Owatashi (→ ferry) at Fukagawa, and was named Eitai Bridge because the left bank was called Eitai Island. It was subsequently washed away by floods, and in 1807, a 185m-long bridge was built to celebrate Tokugawa Tsunayoshi's 50th birthday. In 1807, the bridge collapsed under a wave of people during a festival at Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine, causing a major disaster with over 1,000 deaths. It has been repaired and rebuilt many times since then, and in 1897, the first steel truss bridge (→ truss) was built as a road bridge in Japan, but because the deck was made of wood, it was burned in the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923. In 1926, the steel bridge today was built as a reconstruction bridge after the earthquake. The bridge is 184.7m long, has a maximum span of 100.6m, and is 22m wide. The main span is a through-deck tied arch bridge, with arch members that overhang on both sides, forming a cantilever structure supporting a short simple girder. The design of the earthquake reconstruction bridge was carried out under the guidance of Enzo Ota of the Reconstruction Bureau and Yutaka Tanaka, who later became a professor at the University of Tokyo. Its design, which pairs with the elegant Kiyosu Bridge, is masculine and heavy, yet has an arch line that gives an overall gentle feeling, and it was called the "Gate of the Imperial Capital Reconstruction." In 2007, it was the first prefectural road bridge to be designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan, along with Kachidoki Bridge and Kiyosu Bridge, both of which are on the Sumida River.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

隅田川にかかる橋。東京都中央区の新川と江東区佐賀を結ぶ。元禄1（1688）年，深川の大渡し（→渡し）に代わって木橋がかけられ，左岸が永代島と呼ばれていたことにちなみ永代橋と名づけられた。その後，洪水による流失が続き，同 11年に徳川綱吉の 50歳の賀を祝して全長 185mの橋が架設されたと伝えられる。文化4（1807）年には富岡八幡宮祭礼時に人波で落橋し，死者 1000人をこえる大惨事が起こった。その後も修復，かけ直しが繰り返され，1897年日本の道路橋では初の鋼トラス橋（→トラス）がかけられたが，床版が木製だったため 1923年に関東大震災で焼損した。1926年，震災復興橋として今日の鋼橋が建設された。橋長 184.7m，最大スパン 100.6m，幅員 22m，主径間は下路式タイドアーチ橋で，このアーチ部材が両側に張り出し，短い単純桁（→単純梁）を支えるカンティレバ（片持ち梁）構造となっている。震災復興橋の設計は，復興局の太田円三と，のちに東京大学教授となる田中豊の指導のもとに進められた。優美な清洲橋と対をなすデザインで，男性的で重量感がありながら全体としてやさしさを感じさせるアーチの線をもち，「帝都復興の門」と称された。2007年，都道府県の道路橋として初めて，同じ隅田川の勝鬨橋，清洲橋とともに国の重要文化財に指定された。

出典　ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典について　情報

<<: Eidaka

>>: Tomb of Princess Yongtai