This is one of the most iconic places in Kyoto - the Shirakawa Ippon-bashi Bridge (Furukawamachi Bridge) located near Chion-in Temple.
Built in 1907, this simple bridge, composed of narrow slabs of Mikage granite laid in parallel, measures only 66 centimetres wide and just under qw metres from one bank of the river to the other. Without any handrails and with only enough room to cross in single file, this precarious bridge certainly makes one think twice before setting foot on it. Judging by the number of people crossing though, it would appear to be a well-used route. Some brave souls even ride over it on their bicycles!
Although the official name is Furukawa-chō Bridge, the locals have long called the bridge “Shirakawa no Ippon-bashi”, “ippon-bashi” meaning “log bridge”, while Shirakawa is the name of the river. This is a bridge of many names, though. It is also known as “Gyōja-bashi” (bridge of the pilgrims) and “Ajari-bashi” (bridge of the masters). These names are connected with the Sennichi Kaihō-gyō, a Buddhist pilgrimage which has been conducted from Enryaku-ji Temple on Kyoto’s Mt Hiei since the Heian Period (794 – 1185).
The bridge has been selected as an addition to the “100 Famous Bridges of Japan” list.
In recent years, the scene has been used as a filming location for local Japanese TV dramas. It has become a popular photo scene for photographers, tourists and fans of Japanese TV dramas. The idea is to create, as if in a painting, a solitary kimono-clad figure crosses the bridge with the view of the narrow stone Ippon bridge (Ippon Bashi) over Shirakawa canal lined with willow trees...
For me, I wanted a real local in a real kimono, so I had the maiko Tomi-Hoshi (富豐志) cross the bridge for me so we can have a portrait at this iconic spot. And then again, the focus must be on the Tomi-Hoshi, rather than the location itself, so I did the portrait with me photographing her from the front, rather than from the sides....
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