BRIDGES OF JAPAN: BETWEEN ARCHITECTURE AND POETRY
Bridges of different types have always played a significant role in the Japanese culture, the role that goes far beyond their direct functional purpose. Unique building techniques and extraordinary design solutions have become distinguished features of the Medieval bridges. Almost every known type of bridges is represented in Japan: chain and arched; pontoon and cable-stayed; fixed and movable; bridges made of wood, stone and metal. The present article surveys and analyzes Japanese bridges of different types and functions in a broad chronological framework - from antiquity to the middle of the twentieth century. However, the special emphasis of the work is given to identifying the features of their semantic characteristics. According to the early chronicles, bridges in Japan began to be erected in the 4th century. Initially, their most important characteristics were the strength and durability. Over time these requirements have expanded significantly. Bridges played a leading role in the social and political life of the Japanese cities starting from the Middle Ages. For instance, for security reasons no bridges were being built on the country's main roads up until the Meiji period. Rivers could only be waded across, travelers had to carry the luggage themselves or use the porters' services, the noble class used palanquins. In the mountain gorges, on the other hand, they built not only durable, but also picturesque suspension bridges, which were technologically far more advanced than their European analogues. Japanese bridges represent various functions. They can not only connect, but also divide. This restrictive role of bridges quite clearly manifested itself during the isolationist policy period (middle of the 17th - middle of the 19th centuries). As an example, the bridge connecting the artificial island of Dejima with the rest of Japan might be recalled. Moreover, this function of bridges is also evident in Shinto shrines - there bridges were designed to separate the shrine from the outside world, clearly distinguishing between sacred and secular life and territory. Hashi garden bridges have a capacious symbolic meaning of their own. If such bridges were a part of a temple garden, they were often painted red in accordance with a Chinese tradition; however unpainted hashi could be found as well. China was the origin of symbolism of this type of bridges, where they represented the path to heaven and immortality. The hashi bridges have incorporated the typology of Dao and Buddhism, becoming a metaphor of transition, which by itself has various meanings. Passing through such a bridge was perceived as a transition from one world to another. The principle of stage direction can be found in arrangement of bridges and in genesis of their form and image. Diverse artistic techniques were often used to establish special sensory involvement and to form a certain emotional mood during the passing through a bridge. This can be experienced, for example, if one walks over the stone bridge of Meganebashi (Spectacles Bridge), one of the oldest in Japan. Bridges were created not only to shorten the distance of a pathway, but also to extend it. For example, the Kintai bridge leading to the medieval castle of Ivakuni has been designed in order to significantly extend the distance that needed to be covered. In the Middle Ages, this bridge was a serious obstacle on the way of enemy forces. In peacetime, only samurais could use it, the common people had to cross the river on boats. The route through the Kintai Bridge meant not only covering of a longer distance, but also overcoming of a more difficult path. The symbolic role of the Japanese bridges is difficult to overestimate. The main bridge of the country, Nihonbashi, combines numerous functions, including the symbolic ones. For centuries it served as a starting point for travelers. Two out of five main roads of the country, Nakasado and Tokaido, connecting Kyoto and Edo, started from here; hereby the Nihonbashi Bridge have become the zero point of reference (as a geographical center) of the city, and it still is even today. The analysis of the Japanese bridges conducted in the article expands the boundaries of their content as an artwork and reveals along with the constructive aesthetic, psychological, and social aspects contained in their function.