Two tandem bridges cross a reservoir in central Japan, half way between Tokyo and Osaka. Drivers speeding along through the countryside of rice fields and mountains come around a bend and see four elegant towers nestled within the forested hills. They are a part of the twin bridges designed in a collaborative effort between American designers and Japanese engineers.

J.A. Brennan was retained to develop an aesthetic design for the bridges compatible with utilized advanced technological engineering. Thorough exploration of the site, context, and research of Japanese architecture and culture resulted in an aerodynamic design theme that borrows lines from a crane spreading its wings, and influenced by the classic shapes and colors of the local Shigaraki pottery tradition.