Defining images of Japan, Red bridges

In many places in Japan, sometimes when you less expect it, you will find small, vermillion colored arched footbridges... Part garden art, part infrastructure, these little architectural jewels are often used with a spiritual purpose, representing a separation between our world and the sacred world. Traditionally, they are also decorated with Buddhist ornaments, like the black sacred gem giboshi on this bridge, photographed on Mount Kurama, in Kyoto.