Hokusai suspension bridge question

[DavidB]

In the Hokusai print The Suspension Bridge on the Border of Hida and Etchū Provinces (Hietsu no sakai tsuribashi 飛越の堺つりはし), from the series “Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces” (Shokoku meikyō kiran 諸国名橋奇覧) (2012-60) is that a safety net underneath the footway? It looks very narrow, as the footway itself does.

Is this a common design for this type of bridge?

Thank you,

David

 

[Majestic]

I think they are just ropes that were used in the construction of the bridge. I doubt that safety nets were a feature of bridges of this era.

 

[Toritoribe]

It's said that Hokusai depicted the bridge through imagination based on a legend. There must be exaggerations in the picture as he often did, including the bridge itself.