One Railway Bridge, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property since 1999
Uchida Triple Bridge (内田三連橋梁, Uchida Sanren Kyoryo) stands at 1804-1 Uchida and adjoining lots, Aka Village, Tagawa District, Fukuoka Prefecture, a Meiji-period railway bridge entered on the register of tangible cultural properties on 18 November 1999. It is a registered property rather than a designated one.
The quantity is one structure. The owner is the railway company Heisei Chikuho Railway.
The structure is a brick bridge of 3 arches, 17 metres long and 12 metres wide. The date field reads Meiji and the year field 1895.
Different Finishes Upstream and Downstream
The two faces of one bridge are finished in different materials.
The Agency records that the upstream wall is faced with cut stone, while on the downstream side the brick is laid with toothing, in view of doubling the track.
Cut stone is stone dressed to shape. The upstream face is of stone, the downstream of brick.
Doubling the track means adding a second line. On the downstream side the brick was not finished flush but left with projections and recesses, so that the bridge could be widened and joined on when that came.
At the Ota power station, the name and the crest on the wall show the owners of now and then.
Here the two faces of the bridge show a finished state and an unfinished state made in view of what might come.
Toothing Made for the Future Became Ornament
A form meant for joining on is received as ornament.
The Agency closes that the toothed brickwork on the downstream side has, as a result, become decorative.
The words as a result mark it as not made to decorate. A form prepared for later work becomes a feature of the bridge.
The Koshikawa bridge never carried a train, the line never reaching it: there the plan itself stopped.
Here the bridge is in use, and the toothing prepared for a second track remains. The record does not say whether the track was ever doubled.
The assessment speaks not of the builders' aim but of how the result looks.
Built for a Railway That Carried Coal
The bridge was built as part of the transport network of a coalfield.
The Agency records that it was built between two stations by a railway company founded to extend the coal-carrying rail network of the Chikuho district.
It was built by a Meiji railway company, and it is owned now by the Heisei Chikuho Railway: the company that built it and the company that owns it differ.
The Ota power station, too, was built for a mine run by one family and bears the name of a later operator.
Here a railway bridge passes to a railway company. The use stays the same while the owner's name changes.
Uchida in the name is the name of the district where it stands.
Visiting
The bridge stands at 1804-1 Uchida and adjoining lots, Aka Village, Tagawa District, Fukuoka Prefecture, owned by the railway company.
It is 17 metres long and 12 metres wide, with 3 arches.
The unit of quantity is the one used for civil-engineering structures, as for the Koshikawa bridge and the Misaka tunnel.
It is owned by a railway company, so access to the track and its surroundings follows the owner's arrangements. Check before travelling.
The two stations it was built between are the ends of that section of line.
Q&A
- When was the bridge registered?
- On 18 November 1999, as a registered tangible cultural property. It is registered rather than designated, and the quantity is one structure.
- How do the two sides differ?
- The upstream wall is faced with cut stone; on the downstream side the brick is laid with toothing in view of doubling the track.
- Is the toothing ornament?
- It was made for a future second track, but the record says it has, as a result, become decorative.
- Who built it?
- A railway company founded to extend the coal-carrying rail network of the Chikuho district.
- How large is it?
- A brick bridge of 3 arches, 17 metres long and 12 metres wide.
Basic Information
| Name | Uchida Triple Bridge (内田三連橋梁, Uchida Sanren Kyoryo) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1804-1 Uchida and adjoining lots, Aka Village, Tagawa District, Fukuoka Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered tangible cultural property (structure, modern other); registered rather than designated |
| Year Designated | 1999 (18 November), registered |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Brick bridge of 3 arches, 17 metres long and 12 metres wide. Cut stone on the upstream wall; brick with toothing on the downstream side in view of doubling the track. The date field reads Meiji and the year field 1895 |
| Owner | Heisei Chikuho Railway |
| Public Access | Owned by a railway company; access follows the owner's arrangements |
References
- Cultural Heritage Online: the bridge
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/137228
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/
- Aka Village
- https://www.akamura.net/
- Fukuoka Prefecture: cultural properties
- https://www.pref.fukuoka.lg.jp/
Last verified: 2026.09.22