We got out of the downtown of Nakatsu City and arrived at Yabakei Gorge in the inland region of the city. In the period of Edo, when the water level was high, people weren't able to cross the river to the other side safely and they had to walk on the path carved along the cliff - you can see it in the following picture - holding the rope in their hands. As you can imagine, however, a few people lost their life there.
In the middle of the 18th century, a priest, whose name was Zen-kai, happened to pass the gorge, and grieved over the dangerous route. He started to drive a tunnel with poor tools, and finally after 30 years of struggle he made it! His tunnel is now called "aonodoumon". Its strength was heightened by the present technologies and the tunnel is used even now. If you want to see it, use the image search with the key word of "aonodoumon". It is partially preserved as it used to be in 18th century.
(Vocabulary)
Yabakei Gorge 耶馬溪
image search/retrieval 画像検索
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！！！
Posted by: KUMO | Aug 22, 2016 at 10:37 AM
I searched 'Aonodoumon'. There are many beautiful pictures of the tunnel and the surrounding area. I have profound respect for a religious man when his actions reflect his beliefs through his service to others.
Posted by: Shiroi Tora | Aug 20, 2016 at 09:33 AM