The Japanese Covered Bridge, Hoi An · The Creature Held Down Beneath

The Japanese Covered Bridge at Hoi An was built by Japanese merchants at the end of the sixteenth century. It carries a tiled roof, and statues of a monkey and a dog stand at the two ends.

The legend is that the bridge was not built to cross the river but to hold down a creature that turns over underground — when it moves, earthquakes come. The bridge is therefore called the Japanese Bridge, and also Lai Vien, the bridge for those from afar.

A small shrine is kept on the inner side of the bridge. Local people say the old bridge was damaged in typhoons many times, but the position of this row of timber posts has never been changed.

Folklore / Hoi An · Vietnam / 1593