[Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture] Flowing water from Lake Inawashiro into the Asaka Plains - Asaka Canal, a major Meiji era construction project that turned Asaka Plains in Koriyama City into fertile land -

There is an agricultural canal running from Lake Inawashiro to Koriyama City. This waterway is a tunnel dug into the mountain between Lake Inawashiro and Koriyama City to supply water to Koriyama City.

The waterway, called ``Asaka Sosui,'' was built in the Meiji period and still waters the land of Koriyama, and is also used for hydroelectric power generation. The historical story about Asaka Canal has been recognized as a Japanese Heritage site by the Agency for Cultural Affairs as ``A single waterway that opened up the future - Toshimichi Okubo's final dream and the path of pioneers in Koriyama and Inawashiro.'' It has also been registered as a World Irrigation Facility Heritage Site by the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID).

The Asaka Plain cultivation project started in the early Meiji period.

Koriyama has been called Asaka-gun since the Heian period, and was a territory of the Nihonmatsu clan during the Edo period. It was a post town on the Oshu Kaido road, and it seemed to be quite crowded. However, Asaka District, which includes Koriyama-juku, was a very desolate wilderness due to dry winds blowing down from the Oshu Mountains drying out the land and few water sources.

The project to cultivate the Asaka Plains was started by local people in 1873 (Meiji 6). The group of pioneers formed a private land clearing company called Kaiseisha, and used innovative methods to cultivate the land, including planting foreign fruit trees and using Western agricultural tools. Kaiseikan, a development office, was built by local carpenters who imitated Western-style buildings based on colored woodblock prints.

However, there is still not enough water to turn this wilderness into a rich land. There, they drew water from the large Lake Inawashiro on the west side beyond the mountain. This was the fervent wish of the local people, including Kaiseisha.

The Meiji government realized the long-cherished desire to draw water from Lake Inawashiro.

From the Edo period to the Meiji period, many of the samurai who were employed by feudal clans in various regions lost their jobs. Toshimichi Okubo, the Minister of Home Affairs, was worried about this problem and thought that he could save the unemployed samurai by carrying out a large-scale land improvement project to channel the water from Lake Inawashiro to Asaka. In 1898 (Meiji 11), we were the first in the country to budget for the Asaka Development and Asaka Canal Opening Project.

However, just before the start of the Asaka development project, Toshimichi Okubo, who was at the forefront of the project, was assassinated (May 14, 1878, Kioisaka Incident).

“Azaka Development and Asaka Canal Opening Project” inheriting Toshimichi Okubo’s will

Toshimichi Okubo tragically passed away before he could even see the start of the business, but the business itself continued to be carried out.

First, on November 11, 1878 (Meiji 11), the first group was from the former Kurume domain, followed by 2,000 former samurai and their families from nine domains across the country, including the former Okayama domain, the former Tosa domain, the former Tottori domain, and the former Nihonmatsu domain. Too many people have immigrated.

In 1879, the Asaka Development and Asaka Canal Opening Project, a grand project to dig a tunnel through the mountains (Ou Mountains) that rises between Lake Inawashiro and the Asaka Plains and channel water, was launched as a project under the direct control of the national government. It started in October (Meiji 12).

The groundbreaking "Jurokubashi Water Gate" designed by Dutch engineer Van Doorn

The first project we tackled was the construction of a water gate on the west side of Lake Inawashiro to ensure a constant flow of water toward Aizu. By diverting water from Lake Inawashiro toward the Asaka Plains, we cannot reduce the amount of water flowing toward Aizu, where lake water has been used up until now. To solve this problem, Van Doorn, a Dutch engineer for the Meiji government, came up with a solution using a scientific method that had not existed in Japan up until then. The idea is to build a dam-like weir where the lake water flows out toward Aizu, and to allow a constant amount of water to flow out through the sluice gate. A huge water gate called ``Jurokukyo Suimon'' was completed in 1880 (Meiji 13).

``Jurokubashi Water Gate'' was made of stone, and an arch-shaped bridge was built over the 16 stone gates. It was later renovated into its current form in 1914 (Taisho 3) for the development of a power source. "Jurokubashi Water Gate" has been certified as a modern industrial heritage.

INFORMATION

• Facility name: Jurokubashi water gate
• Address: Senba, Onizawa, Inawashiro-machi, Yama-gun, Fukushima Prefecture and Akaido-no-guchi, Minato-machi, Aizuwakamatsu City
• Contact: 024-922-4595 (Asaka Canal Land Improvement District)
• Free tour
• URL: Asaka Canal

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The Asaka Canal was completed in three years, including the Numagami Tunnel and waterway that penetrate the Ou Mountains.

Around the same time as the construction of the Jurokubashi Water Gate, construction of the water intake and tunnel to the Asaka Plains began. The water intake was originally built in Yamagata (Yamagata, Inawashiro Town). Water from Lake Inawashiro flows through a tunnel into the valley on the other side. This tunnel, called ``Numakami Tunnel'', runs through Mt. Numakami (761 m above sea level) and has a total length of 585 m. Construction began in December 1879 (Meiji 12). It was completed in July 1881 (Meiji 14). As a result, the water from Lake Inawashiro penetrated the Ou Mountains and flowed into the Asaka Plains for the first time. The water intake was later moved to the Joko Headworks (Yamagata, Inawashiro Town), a little north of the Yamagata Sluice Gate, and is still in operation today.

The water from Lake Inawashiro that passes through the Numagami Tunnel flows downstream from the exit on the Koriyama side, cascading down to join the Gohyakugawa River. The Asaka Canal that washed up in the Asaka Plains was channeled into a 52.1 km waterway and a 78 km diversion channel, watering approximately 3,000 hectares of new farmland. The Asaka Canal was completed over a three-year construction period, using a total of 850,000 workers and a national budget of 407,000 yen (approximately 40 billion yen today).

The Asaka Canal has since been expanded and renovated, and now supplies water to approximately 10,000 hectares of rice fields.

Asaka Canal is also used for hydroelectric power generation

``Asaka Canal'' flows out like a waterfall into the converging Gohyaku River. A hydroelectric power plant was built using this flow. The first to be completed was the Numagami Power Plant in 1899 (Meiji 32), which uses the drop that flows from the Numagami Tunnel into the Gohyaku River to generate electricity.

After that, the ``Takenouchi Power Station'' began operation in 1919 (Taisho 8), and the ``Marumori Power Station'' began operation in 1921 (Taisho 10). "Numakami Power Plant," "Takenouchi Power Plant," and "Marumori Power Plant" have been certified as modern industrial heritage sites.

INFORMATION

• Facility name: Numagami Power Plant
• Address: Yasukojima, Atami-cho, Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture
• Contact: 0242-22-4611 (TEPCO Renewable Power Inawashiro Office)

• Facility name: Takenouchi Power Plant
• Address: Takenouchi, Yasukojima, Atami-cho, Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture
• Contact: 0242-22-4611 (TEPCO Renewable Power Inawashiro Office)

• Facility name: Marumori Power Plant
• Address: 5-chome Atami, Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture
• Contact: 0242-22-4611 (TEPCO Renewable Power Inawashiro Office)

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Many historical sites and related facilities of Asaka Canal remain in Koriyama City.

``The birthplace of Asaka development'' where ``Kaiseikan,'' government offices, settler houses, etc. are collected.

After being used as a development base, Kaiseikan was used as the county office, Kuwano Village (currently Koriyama City) government office, etc., and now serves as a museum that tells the history of Asaka reclamation and Asaka Canal. "Kaiseikan" is an important cultural property of Fukushima Prefecture and a modern industrial heritage recognized by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

On the premises of "Kaiseikan" (a historic site of Koriyama City as the "birthplace of Asaka development"), there is "Azaka Development Official Residence" (former Tateiwa Ichiro residence / restored, designated as an important cultural property by Koriyama City), "Azaka Development Settlers' Residence" ” (former Koyama family/relocated and restored, Koriyama City designated important cultural property) and (former Tsubouchi family/relocated and restored) are open to the public (both temporarily closed in 2022).

INFORMATION

• Facility name: Birthplace of Asaka development ("Kaiseikan", "Azaka development official residence" (formerly Ichiro Tateiwa's residence), "Azaka development settler residence (former Koyama family)", "Azaka development settler residence (formerly Tsubouchi family)"
• Address: 3-3-7 Kaisei, Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture
• Phone number: 024-923-2157
• Opening hours: 10:00-17:00 (admission until 16:30)
• Closed: Mondays (the next day if Monday is a public holiday), December 28th to January 4th
• Admission fee: 200 yen for adults, 100 yen for high school and university students, free for those 65 and older, junior high school students and younger, and those with a disability certificate.
• *As of December 2022, due to damage caused by the Fukushima Prefecture Offshore Earthquake that occurred on February 13, 2021, Asaka Development Office (formerly Tateiwa Ichiro Residence) and Asaka Development Settlers Residence (former Koyama, former Tsubouchi family) are temporarily closed. doing. It is scheduled to reopen after the renovation work is completed. Inquiry required
• URL: Koriyama City Kaiseikan

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Rokuyama Park was the final exit of Asaka Canal.

Hayama Koen is a park that was built in 1827 to commemorate the promotion of Koriyama Village to a post town by the Edo Shogunate. In the Meiji period, after the Asaka Canal was completed, the Asaka Canal was built as a memorial, with the canal flowing like a waterfall called the Asaka Canal. “Azaka Canal and the Flying Waterfall of Mt. Fuji” is a registered tangible cultural property of the country.

INFORMATION

• Facility name: Rokuyama Park
• Address: 1-chome Rokuyama, Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture
• Phone number: 024-924-2194 (Koriyama City Tourism Exchange Promotion Corporation 21st Century Memorial Park Office)
• Free admission

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"Former Fukushima Prefectural Junior High School Main Building", which was visited by people involved in Asaka Canal

The school building of Fukushima Prefectural Junior High School, which was opened in 1889 (Meiji 22), is now open to the public as the Asaka History Museum. This is the school where many people involved in Asaka Canosui attended. The former Fukushima Prefectural Junior High School Main Building is a nationally important cultural property.

INFORMATION

• Facility name: Asaka History Museum (formerly Fukushima Prefectural Junior High School main building)
• Address: 5-25-63 Kaisei, Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture
• Phone number: 024-938-0778
• Opening hours: 10:00-17:00 (last admission 16:30)
• Closed: Mondays (the next day if Monday is a public holiday), New Year holidays
• During the winter period (January to the end of February), it is only open on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
• Admission fee: Adults 300 yen, High school students 200 yen, Elementary and junior high school students 100 yen
• URL: Asaka History Museum

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Asaka Canosui Shrine, the guardian deity of Asaka Canals

``Azaka Cansui Shrine'' is a shrine worshiped as the guardian deity of ``Asaka Cansui''. It is said that workers heading for canal construction always visited the shrine before heading to the site.

INFORMATION

• Facility name: Asaka Canosui Shrine
• Address: Yasukojima, Atami-cho, Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture

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Okubo Shrine, where Toshimichi Okubo was prayed for

This is a shrine dedicated to Toshimichi Okubo, who worked tirelessly to build the Asaka Canal, but was assassinated before it was completed. It was founded in 1889 (Meiji 22), and there is no shrine building, only a memorial monument.

INFORMATION

• Facility name: Okubo Shrine
• Address: 4-112 Ushiniwa, Asaka-cho, Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture (on the grounds of Asaka Community Center Ushiniwa Annex)

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