Located in Chuo Ward and Miyakojima Ward, Osaka City. This bridge is located at the northern gateway to Osaka Castle. During the Edo period, it was the starting point for the Kyoto Kaido road to Kyoto and the Nozaki Mairi pilgrimage. Due to its importance, the shogunate designated it a public bridge (a bridge directly managed by the shogunate). The current Kyobashi Bridge was built in 1924. At the time, it was 73 meters long, but renovation work on the Neyagawa River from 1930 shortened it to 55 meters.
Although Kyobashi now refers to the area around Kyobashi Station in Miyakojima Ward and Joto Ward, the area originally called Kyobashi is said to have stretched from present-day Temmabashi Station to Kitahama Station. It is also quite a distance from JR Kyobashi Station.
November 7, 2024: It's more than a 10-minute walk from Keihan and JR Kyobashi Station. The bridge is about 1.5 kilometers away. I got off at the Keihan East Exit of City Bus Route 62 and headed there. From Neyagawa Bridge, I was captivated by the trains ascending and descending the slopes. I crossed the Neyagawa River on the Osakabashi pedestrian bridge, then crossed again on the Kyobashi Bridge from the Otemon Gakuin side, or south side.
Walking along the moat from Osaka Castle, I came across the bridge over the Neyagawa River (formerly the Yamato River) just after exiting the Kyobashi Exit. It continued onto the Kyokaido Highway. The Kyokaido Highway connected Osaka and Kyoto and had four post towns: Fushimi, Yodo, Hirakata, and Moriguchi. During feudal lords' alternate attendance, the shogunate instructed them to pass through Fushimi rather than enter Kyoto, due to the sankin-kotai system. Even if they traveled via the Saigoku Kaido, outside feudal lords were afraid to come into contact with the emperor, and so they wanted to pass through Fushimi. That feeling is spot on.
Kyōbashi Bridge was already built during the Toyotomi era, and was rebuilt in 1623. Of the 200-plus bridges in Osaka, it was the official bridge directly managed by the shogunate due to its strategic location at a transportation junction. The roofs attached to the bridge piers and the boat guard posts installed to protect ships from hitting them prevented the cut edges from rotting due to moisture. Perhaps temperatures were cooler during this period than they are today, as there are many images of snow in this ukiyo-e collection.
I was into stamps when I was a student, so all of the Stamp Hobby Week series were expensive, but "Kambara" was especially expensive. It felt like the Tokaido, with all the deep snow. Hosetsu was also influenced by it.
