Terasaka Bridge

Saitama's Oldest Working Stone Arch Bridge

The Terasaka Bridge (寺坂橋) is a single-span stone arch bridge built in 1889 where the old Isesaki road crosses the Motokoyama River at Chuo 2-chome, Honjo City, Saitama Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on March 7, 2008. According to Honjo City, it is the oldest stone arch bridge still in use in Saitama Prefecture.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as a single-span stone arch, 7.6 metres long and 3.3 metres wide; registration number 11-0116, owned by Honjo City.

A Bridge on the Old Isesaki Road

According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the bridge was built on the old road linking Isesaki and Honjo. Saitama Prefecture's guide to the Honjo post town notes that this road was an important bypass of the Nakasendo highway.

Honjo City describes it as an arch bridge of modern dressed stone. North of Honjo, once the largest post town on the Nakasendo, this small bridge still shows Meiji-period civil engineering (Saitama Prefecture).

Why It Was Registered

The Terasaka Bridge was registered as a structure that contributes to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that it is one of the few Meiji-period stone bridges in the Kanto region.

What to Look For

The Terasaka Bridge is a flat single arch with a rise of about one fifth of its span. The voussoirs (the wedge stones of the arch) near each bank are cut as pentagons, a distinctive feature (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Saitama Prefecture's guide remarks that this small, unremarkable-looking bridge at the foot of a slope is in fact a historic structure.

Getting There

The Terasaka Bridge carries a city road at Chuo 2-chome, Honjo City, and can be seen at any time. Saitama Prefecture's walking guide reaches it by heading north along the old Isesaki road from the Honjo City Museum of History and Folklore and down a slope. Watch for traffic.