Yatsuhashi zig-zag bridge

[garuda]

The Yatsuhashi bridge can be found in many traditional Japanese gardens. There's an old tale behind the function of this bridge — claiming it wards off evil spirits since spirits can only travel in straight lines.

THE MYTH: Some misguided Westerners claim that evil spirits can only travel in straight lines and that Japanese gardens have zig-zag bridges to prevent evil spirits from moving through them.

THE FACT: Japanese gardens do sometimes feature zig-zag bridges, but the evil spirit story is complete nonsense. Zig-zag bridges are featured in Japanese gardens partially because they are attractive and because they are interesting to walk over. There is also a charming story that links zig-zag bridges to Japanese literature and culture. The zig-zag bridge motif is a natural fit for many of the Japanese arts including gardening.

• ILCE-6000
• E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
• 16.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/80 sec
• ISO 100

View of pond from the bridge:
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• ILCE-6000
• E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
• 16.0 mm
• ƒ/10
• 1/100 sec
• ISO 100

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

We have one at our "local" Japanese garden (I say local but its a 40 minute drive from me). It always seemed to be the perfect juxtaposition of manmade straight lines trying to hug the curves of a lakeside or otherwise-oddly-shaped natural feature.