[Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture] Hashino Iron Mine, one of the constituent assets of the World Heritage Site "Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding, and Coal Industries"

Hashino Iron Mine/Hashino Blast Furnace Ruins (Hashino Blast Furnace Ruins ) are blast furnace ruins located in Hashino-cho, Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture, and were designated as a national historic site in 1957, and are listed as World Heritage Sites, Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution, Iron and Steel Manufacturing. , shipbuilding, and coal industry.

The registered name is ``Hashino Iron Mine .

World Heritage Site “Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding, and Coal Industries” Constituent Assets

The World Heritage Site ``Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel Manufacturing, Shipbuilding, and Coal Industry'' 23 properties spanning 8 prefectures and 11 cities . Although it has been simplified, the following is a list of constituent assets across the country divided into areas.

• Area 1 - Hagi City Area, Yamaguchi Prefecture
  • Hagi Reverberatory Furnace, Ebisugahana Shipyard Ruins, Oitayama Tatara Iron Works Ruins, Hagi Castle Town, Matsushita Village Juku
• Area 2 - Kagoshima prefecture area
  • Former Shuseikan, Terayama charcoal kiln ruins, Sekiyoshi water canal
• Area 3 - Shizuoka prefecture area
  • Nirayama reverberatory furnace
• Area 4 - Kamaishi area, Iwate prefecture
  • Hashino Iron Mine
• Area 5 - Saga prefecture area
  • Mietsu Naval Dock Ruins
• Area 6 - Nagasaki prefecture area
  • Kosuge shipyard ruins, Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works No. 3 Dock, Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works Giant Cantilever Crane, Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works former wood molding yard, Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works Senshokaku, Takashima Coal Mine, Hashima Coal Mine, former Glover Housing
• Area 7 - Omuta City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Arao City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Uki City, Kumamoto Prefecture area
  • Miike Coal Mine/Miike Port, Misumi West Port
• Area 8 - Fukuoka Prefecture Kitakyushu City/Nakama City Area
  • Government Yawata Steel Works, Onga River Water Source Pump Room

The periods listed above can be divided into two periods: the early development period and the industrial formation period.

Component assets in the early stage of development

Iron and steel manufacturing

Hagi (Hagi reverberatory furnace, Oitayama Tatara ironworks ruins, etc.), Kagoshima (Shuseikan), Nirayama (Nirayama reverberatory furnace), Kamaishi (Hashino iron mine, blast furnace ruins)

shipbuilding

Hagi (Remains of Ebisugahana Shipyard, etc.), Saga (Remains of Mietsu Naval Dock, etc.), Kagoshima (Shuseikan), Nagasaki (Kosuge Shipyard, etc.)

coal industry

Nagasaki (Takashima Coal Mine, Hashima Coal Mine, etc.), Miike (Mikka Nishi (old) Port)

Component assets of the industrial formation period

Iron and steel manufacturing

Yawata (Yawata Steel Works)

shipbuilding

Nagasaki (Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works)

coal industry

Miike (Miike Coal Mine, Miike Port)

Although it is rare in the world, there is a reason why Japan's industrial revolution became a World Heritage Site. The following is a quote from the official website of the World Heritage Center, but this is how it looked from the world's perspective.

It tells the story of how Japan, under its feudal system, sought technology transfer from Europe and the United States, improved the technology it introduced to suit domestic needs and traditions, and how Japan became one of the world's leading industrial nations in a short period of time. The conglomeration of technologies consisting of the core industries of iron and steel manufacturing, shipbuilding, and coal proves a remarkable achievement in world history as the first non-Western nation to successfully become an industrial nation.

© UNESCO World Heritage Center 1992-2024

Above, I gave a brief explanation of the constituent assets of the World Heritage Site "Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel Manufacturing, Shipbuilding, and Coal Industries," and among them is the "Hashino Iron Mine," located in Hashino-cho, Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture. played a particularly important role in Japan's industrial revolution.

This is possible because of the geographical characteristics and nature of Tohoku, Iwate Prefecture, and Kamaishi City.

Kamaishi Mine, a mine discovered before Hashino Iron Mine in Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture

Why Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture in the first place? It wasn't because the ocean was right in front of me, or because Iwate happened to be located in Iwate. this area is an iron ore deposit created by the reaction (contact alternation) between magma that turns into granite and surrounding limestone, and is the site of Japan's largest iron mine, the Kamaishi Mine

This "Kamaishi Mine" is located on the coast of the Kitakami Mountains, and is said to have a history of over 150 years, from its opening in the Meiji era to the present. In 1727, Shoou Abe a medicine envoy attached to the Edo shogunate (a person who traveled around the world collecting and researching medicinal herbs), discovered magnetite (an iron oxide mineral) at Sennin Pass. In addition to the main source of iron, the mine also produces gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc.Even after the mine was closed, around 100 tons are mined annually for research and other purposes.

Masao Abe magnetite at Sennin Pass , in 1849, Seibei Takasu Daisuke Nakano of Rikuchu jointly built an old-style blast furnace in Ohashi.

In 1857, a samurai used Japan's first blast furnace to tap iron at the Hashino Iron Mine. In 1862, two more blast furnaces were installed to increase the production of pig iron.

Takato Oshima, a samurai of the Nanbu clan, father of modern steelmaking

As we transition from Japan's largest iron mine to Japan's number one iron town, we must not forget the man who cannot be talked about without mentioning Takato Oshima, the father of modern steel manufacturing. " is.

Born into a family of doctors in Morioka, studied Dutch studies

Takato Oshima was born on May 11, 1826, in Morioka Nio-koji, the eldest son of Shuichi Oshima, a samurai doctor of the Morioka domain.In 1842, at the age of 17, he moved to Tokyo to study Dutch studies (medicine), and in Edo he studied under Mitsukuri Nyopo. Learn Western studies from Genpo Mitsukuri and Shindo Tsuboi

In Nagasaki, he became interested in modern weapons and translated a Dutch book on iron reverberatory furnaces.

After that, he studied abroad in Nagasaki, where he became interested in Western military tactics, gunnery, mining, and smelting, and Ritsuzo Tezuka, a feudal retainer of the Choshu clan , he worked with Major General Huguenin's Royal Iron Cannon Casting, which was the bible Translate ``Casting Methods in Places''

Invited by the Mito domain and succeeded in constructing an iron reverberatory furnace.

Later, he was invited by the Mito clan and succeeded in constructing a reverberatory furnace at Nakaminato, and succeeded in casting a cannon, but its performance was not high because the raw material was iron sand. From then on, in order to produce high-quality iron, a Western-style blast furnace was built in 1857 Koshimura Ohashi (present-day Koshicho Ohashi, Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture) was produced, and as mentioned above, in 1857 In 2013, we succeeded in tapping iron ore using iron ore smelting for the first time in Japan.

Why is Takato Oshima called the "father of modern steelmaking" This is because he was highly regarded as an engineer by the later Meiji government and was active as a leading figure in the mining industry.

World Heritage Hashino Iron Mine (Hashino Blast Furnace Ruins)

The World Heritage Site "Hashino Iron Mine (Hashino Blast Furnace Ruins)" is located in Hashino-cho, Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture.

It was designated as a national historic site in 1957, received the Historical Heritage Award (HL Award) from the American Metals Institute in 1984, and was designated as a World Heritage Site in 2015 as a World Heritage site, ``Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel Manufacturing, Shipbuilding, and Coal Industry.'' It has become a constituent asset. The name registered as a World Heritage Site is ``Hashino Iron Mine,'' which is the collective name for the iron ore mining site, transportation route, and blast furnace site.

Additionally, at the very back of the Hashino Blast Furnace Ruins, there is a gate to the iron mine, and the road continues as a two-way forest road, but it is prohibited to enter as it is a national forest.

Hashino Blast Furnace Ruins

The Hashino blast furnace site is the oldest existing blast furnace site in Japan. On December 1, Ansei 4, Takato Oshima built a Western-style blast furnace in Ohashi (near the current old mining office), referring to Dutch books, and succeeded in continuous iron production. The Hashino Iron Mine began operations at the current No. 3 Blast Furnace).

The reason why a blast furnace was built deep in the mountains of Hashino-cho, Kamaishi City was not just because it was able to extract high-quality magnetite.

In addition to iron, this mountain can also mass-produce high-quality charcoal, which is indispensable for iron-making.A small stream runs through the mountain, creating a canal that can be used to create waterways that operate using hydraulic power (for burning charcoal and other fuels at high temperatures). Another major factor was that the blast furnace was able to send sufficient air to the blast furnace for iron production.

As you walk around the grounds, you'll come across something called slag There are various sizes, from the size of a pebble to large ones that exceed 60 cm in diameter.

This is a dissolved substance other than the target components that is generated when refining minerals such as iron, nickel, and chromium, and is considered a type of industrial waste. In other words, this steel slag is proof that the Hashino blast furnace was in operation at that time. As a side note, I personally found this slag more romantic than the blast furnace ruins.

When the Hashino blast furnace was in operation, about 1,000 workers were employed, and in addition to the three huge blast furnaces, there was a tenement house where the workers slept, a blacksmith's house, a water mill, and an ``Ohipay'' where they paid their wages. A shrine was also located there.

At the current Hashino blast furnace site, the stone walls of three blast furnaces can be seen. The stonework used in castles was used for the construction of blast furnaces, and Japanese wooden structures were used to cover the blast furnaces. Documents indicate that the height was about 10m. It was built by Takato Oshima, using Japanese technology to create world-class steel.

By the way, Hashino Blast Furnace has blast furnaces from No. 1 to No. 3, but the No. 3 blast furnace was built first, and the order of these numbers is from upstream.

Hashino Iron Mine Information Center

Hashino Iron Mine has the "Hashino Iron Mine Information Center" built in 2014. Before entering the Hashino Blast Furnace Ruins, we recommend that you gain prior knowledge at this information center before entering.

The guides are also kind local people who welcome you kindly and politely.

Information-Hashino Iron Mine Information Center

• Address: 2-6 Hashinocho, Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture 026-0411
• Opening hours: 9:30-16:30
• Closed: December 9th to March 31st
• Usage fee: Free
• access
  • Approximately 50 minutes by car from JR Kamaishi Station (*Taxi and rental car shops are available near Kamaishi Station)
  • Approximately 35 minutes by car from JR Tono Station (*Taxi available near Tono Station)
  • Large buses cannot pass through the prefectural road Kamaishi Tono Line.
  • The nearest bus stop is Nakamura, but it is difficult to take a taxi from there. In that case, please note that you will have to walk approximately 10km one way on prefectural and city roads.

Google Map (Kamaishi Station - Hashino Iron Mine Information Center)