The Construction and the Background of Five Stone-Masonry Bridges over the Kotsuki River

Abstract

The five stone-masonry bridges over the Kotsuki River, which flows along the center of Kagoshima City, have provided a historical outlook to this City. Among them, the Nishida Bridge has ornamental balustrade with beautifully designed balusters and this bridge is very famous as the main gateway bridge of the old Satsuma province. This paper investigates why these stone-masonry bridges were chosen for construction in kagoshima, which lies at the southern edge of Kyusyu, the circumstances of construction of these bridges and so on.