Muza-chan's Gate to Japan

Harimaya-bashi, and its sad love story

Fri, July 14, 2017, by Muza-chan
Harimaya-bashi is this small red bridge in Kochi, named after a nearby shop. It is one of the best-known places in the city, due to a 150-years-old sad love story, told in a popular traditional folk song called Yosakoi-bushi.

It is said that a young monk named Junshin, from the Chikurin-ji Temple on Mount Godai, once fell in love with a girl named Ouma, the daughter of a tinker who used to live near Harimaya-bashi. Because he was a monk, their relation was kept secret for a long time, but in the end it raised the suspicion of the other monks.

When they caught Junshin buying a woman hairpin for women from a shop close to Harimaya-bashi, he was banished from the temple and was sent to live far away, and the two were never allowed to meet again...


Harimaya-bashi, Kochi, Shikoku
EXIF info:

Nikon Df
Lens: 24-70mm F/2.8G
Focal Length: 24mm
Aperture: F/7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/160s
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 400


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