Iwanaga Sangoro

Iwanaga Sangorô was a stonemason from Higo province, commissioned in the 1840s by Shimazu clan karô Zusho Shôzaemon to oversee the construction of some thirty-six bridges across Shimazu clan (Satsuma han) territory. These included five now-famous stone bridges over the Kôtsuki River in the castle-town of Kagoshima, three of which are today maintained in Gionnosu Park as cultural properties of architectural heritage.

Some of the masons and carpenters with whom he worked, including Aso Tetsuya, Yamada Ryûsuke, and Tanaka Genjirô, went on to become locally famous or influential in their own rights.

The last bridge in Satsuma that Iwanaga oversaw was Enokuchi-bashi in Satsumasendai. He died in 1851, in his home province of Higo, at the age of 59.

References

• Plaque at original location of Kôraibashi, along Kôtsuki River History Road 甲突川歴史ロード 維新ふるさとの道, Kagoshima.[1]