AT A GLANCE
Why go?
At the south end of the current Minato Bridge in Hekinan's old Ohama waterfront district, four sturdy stone pillars stand in a quiet row beside the road. They are the parent pillars — oyabashira — of an earlier bridge that once connected the port town's merchants and fishermen to the opposite bank. A weathered photograph mounted nearby shows the riverside scene as it looked in 1926, anchoring these remnants firmly in the Taisho era.↗↗
The pillars are a small but evocative stop on a walking tour of Hekinan's historic Ohama quarter, just steps from the striking white-walled Old Ohama Police Station with its octagonal tower. Together, they tell the story of a port community that preserved its past while the town grew around it.↗↗
What Makes This Landmark Special
Oyabashira are the monumental end-pillars of a bridge, traditionally designed not just as structural markers but as statements of civic pride — often bearing the bridge's name and date. When old Minato Bridge was replaced, the community chose to keep its four pillars intact and display them in place at the foot of the new crossing. The decision reflects a broader pattern in Hekinan's Ohama district, where historical fragments from the Taisho and early Showa eras are quietly maintained in public view rather than lost to development.
