The Kintai Bridge’s design came to Hiroyoshi as he cooked rice cakes and noticed how the cakes arched up while baking. While contemplating the rice cakes, Hiroyoshi became ill and bedridden. A Buddhist monk named Dokuryu treated Hiroyoshi’s illness. One day, while Dokuryu was treating Hiroyoshi, he showed him a book from Xihu, his hometown in Hangzhou, China. Flipping through the pages, Hiroyoshi came across an illustration of the area called Sokoutei, which translates to brocade sash. The illustration showed a chain of islands connected by stone arch bridges, which all together resembled a brocade sash. Hiroyashi pounded his table with excitement as he formulated an idea for the bridge he wished to build. Using five small stone islands built in the middle of the Nishiki River and connected with five wooden arched bridges, Hiroyashi built what would be known as the Kintai Bridge.
Legend about Kintai Bridge
