Togetsukyō Bridge

In front of you is the Togetsukyō, the bridge that has become the symbol of Arashiyama. Its name means “moon-crossing bridge”.

1A moon that crossed

Tradition places the first bridge around the year 836, built by the monk Dōshō to reach Hōrin-ji temple on the south bank. The name is usually credited to the retired Emperor Kameyama in the 13th century: watching the moon move across the sky above it on a clear night, he remarked that it seemed to be crossing the bridge. Other sources say it was the Zen monk Musō Soseki who fixed the name in the 14th century.

Nor has the bridge always stood here. It used to be about a hundred metres upstream, and in 1606 the merchant Suminokura Ryōi moved it while making the river navigable. The present bridge was completed in 1934. Inside it is concrete and steel, but the cypress railings keep the look of a wooden bridge so as not to spoil the scenery. It is about 155 metres long.

2Don’t look back

A curious custom survives here. At the age of thirteen, many Kyoto children visit Hōrin-ji to receive wisdom from its bodhisattva, in a rite called jūsan-mairi. On the way home they cross this bridge without turning their heads: tradition says that if they look back before reaching the other side, they give the wisdom back.

The river changes its name: upstream it is the Hozu, here it is called the Ōi and further down the Katsura.

3What to look for

• The wooden railing, which disguises the modern structure.
• Mount Arashiyama, to the south, which gives the area its name.
• The low weir upstream, which makes the water look like a mirror.