The late Dr.Yutaka Tanaka, the first head of the Bridge Division of The Board of Capital Reconstruction / The Bureau of Reconstruction during reconstruction of the capital following the Great Kanto Earthquake, is widely known even today as the man responsible for the construction of many famous bridges familiar to the general public that have become symbols of Tokyo. These include Eitaibashi and Kiyosubashi bridges spanning the Sumida River. At that time, Dr.Tanaka was an authority in bridge and structural societies. In light of his achievements, it would be fitting to call him the father of Japan's bridge and steel structure industries.
After Dr.Tanaka'death, his family contributed to the Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) a fund for the purpose of promoting his profession. In 1965, Following upon the earlier initiative by volunteers, it was proposed to set up a venture to commemorate the professor's achievements, the 'Dr.Yutaka Tanaka Commemorative Foundation'. Since then, numerous individuals and groups have contributed further donations to the fund. Using these donations, the JSCE, on behalf of the Commemorative Foundation, decided to award an annual prize, 'The Japan Society of Civil Engineers Tanaka Prize', for excellence in bridge and steel structure engineering, In 1966, the awarding of the Tanaka prize, which is just one of the JESSE awards, was started. Over the last thirty years or more, numerous volunteers, together with the assistance and cooperation from many other people, have helped establish the prize as one of extremely high honor and value, and have also contributed greatly to the dissemination of bridge engineering technology.
The Tanaka prize is made up of the following three awards:
(1) Division of Professional Bridge Engineer Recognition: Awarded in recognition for outstanding achievement for the advancement and development in the field of bridge engineering. The Award was created in 1993, so is relatively new, but has already established itself, having been awarded to some of the most eminent bridge engineers in the country.
(2) Division of Outstanding Research Publication: This award is selected for a paper (thesis or academic report) presented in a JSCE publication, relating to the planning, design, fabrication, construction, maintenance administration, invention of device, or history etc of bridges, and which is recognized for the significant contribution it makes to the development of bridge engineering.
(3) Division of Outstanding Bridge Design, Construction and Retrofit: A bridge, or related structure, Whose planning, design, construction, retrofit or otherwise, is selected in recognition of its special features. The Project Award, acknowledging that the collaboration of many people is involved in producing a bridge, is different from other JSCE awards in that it is not awarded to a single individual, but rather to the grouping of the developer, designer, contracor and whole organization responsible for producing the work.
