Photo/Illutration Located in Miyoshi, Tokushima Prefecture, Kazurabashi bridge is known as one of the three most unusual bridges in Japan. It creaks and sways when people walk on it. Originally, there were 13 of these bridges built along the Iya Valley, but this one is the longest of the three remaining. (Photo by Lisa Vogt)

“Ah-ah-eeh, ah-eeeh-aaaaaah, eeh-ah, eeeeh-aaah!” Tarzan yells as he swings on a vine from tree to tree to rescue a gal.

He introduces himself, “Me Tarzan. You Jane.” Romantic music plays, and they look into each other’s eyes and fall in love. The classic movie goes something like this, yes?

How about a Japanese version featuring fugitives from the Genpei War (1180-1185)--a civil war between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late Heian Period (794-1185).

“Me Heike-no-Ochudo (fugitives who retreated to remote regions after their defeat in the war). You cute 'musume.'”

Flute, koto and biwa lute music play, and they look into each other’s eyes. The girl says, “Look, dude. There are numerous Heike-no-Ochudo places throughout Japan. Every remote rural area has a story just like yours and I’m not impressed.” End of story.

Deep in the Iya Valley, a mountainous region in western Tokushima Prefecture, is a spectacular suspension bridge made from tough intertwined Actinidia arguta vines. The historic bridge spans 45 meters and they say it was first created about 800 years ago.

The rustic bridge is breathtakingly beautiful. I’m usually game for adventure, be it skydiving or bungee jumping, but crossing the Kazurabashi bridge? My heart seriously pitter-pattered as I peered down through the large gaps between the planks of the wobbly bridge to the gushing waters 14 meters below.

The bridge is firmly anchored to old cedar trees on both ends of the valley and has been ushering people to and from the two sides for centuries. Still.

The twining woody vine the bridge is made from is commonly called hardy kiwi. Grape-size smooth-skinned kiwi fruit grows on this fast-growing plant, and it’s apparently sweeter than its larger relative, the true kiwi that we can find in our local supermarket.

How were these bridges created? Long vines were grown on each side of the river and then woven together. If enemies were seen approaching, the bridge could easily be cut down, and intruders stopped in their tracks. Brilliant!

There used to be over a dozen of these distinctive bridges in this region, but there are only a few left today.

Could Tarzan or some Taira guy really swing on long vines one after another, each time landing on the ideally situated supports, and ultimately find himself right in front of a romantic interest?

How likely would a conveniently clear open path be among those thickets of crisscrossing vines? And vines capable of holding a swinging adult male would have to be pretty stiff.

But hey, love can create miracles, right?

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This article by Lisa Vogt, a Washington-born and Tokyo-based photographer, originally appeared in the June 19 issue of Asahi Weekly. It is part of the series "Lisa’s Wanderings Around Japan," which depicts various places across the country through the perspective of the author, a professor at Meiji University.

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