Megane Bridge
Encyclopedia
or Spectacles Bridge, over the Nakashima River (中島川) was built in Nagasaki in 1634 by the Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....

 monk Mozi of Kofukuji
Kofuku-ji (Nagasaki)
is an Ōbaku Zen Buddhist temple established in 1624 in Nagasaki, Japan. It is an important cultural asset designated by the government.-External references:* *...

 Temple. It is said to be the oldest stone arch bridge
Arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...

 in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and has been designated as an Important Cultural Property
Important Cultural Properties of Japan
The term is often shortened into just are items officially already classified as Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs and judged to be of particular importance to the Japanese people....

. It received the nickname "Spectacles Bridge" because its two arches and their reflection in the water create the image of a pair of spectacles.
On July 23, 1982, a disastrous deluge washed away six of the ten stone bridges over the Nakashima River. Meganebashi was badly damaged but fortunately almost all the original stones were retrieved and the bridge was restored to its original appearance.

There is a similar but larger "Spectacles Bridge" in Isahaya Park
Isahaya Park
Isahaya Park is in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It was built on the ruins of Takashiro castle during the Taishō period. The park is famous for its azalea blooms, and the "Azalea Festival" is held here, on and around April 10 every year...

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