About This Print

Print number 13 十三 in the series Nihon chishi ryakuzu (Simple Illustrations of Places in Japan) consisting of at least 78 prints.  The series formed a type of geographical primer of Japan and the prints were sold individually and bound into albums as can be seen in the book in the collection of the British Museum, pictured below.


This print pictures the Monkey Bridge (Saruhashi) over the Kakegawa Gorge in modern-day Yamanashi Prefecture. 

Kai Province (甲斐国, Kai no kuni), also known as Kōshū (甲州), is an old province in Japan in the area of Yamanashi Prefecture. It lies in central Honshū, west of Tokyo, in a landlocked mountainous region that includes Mount Fuji along its border with Shizuoka Prefecture.<sup>1

1</sup> Wikipedia website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kai_Province

Saruhashi

Saruhashi is one of "Japan's Three Odd Bridges."  It is 33 meters high, 3.3 meters wide and 31 meters long.

The bridge is built over a narrow ravine, with four stacked haneki, or cantilevered members, embedded to the rock wall of both banks. The structural support is similar to architectural roofing.

The construction year is unknown, but there are records of this bridge style existing in 1676. The oldest estimation is that it was completed over 500 years ago. The bridge was restored in 1984.