[Ogata Village, Akita Prefecture] What is the Ogata Village Reclamation Museum? Introducing popular spots where you can learn about the history of Ogata Village

Ogata Village in Akita Prefecture was created by reclaiming a lake, but many people may not understand why such a project was carried out.

In this article, we will introduce the Ogata Village Reclamation Museum, where you can learn about the Hachirogata reclamation project and the history of Ogata Village.

What is Ogata Village Reclamation Museum

Hachirogata, which had the second largest area in Japan, was reborn as Ogata Village in 1963 with technical assistance from the Netherlands.

At the Ogata Village Reclamation Museum, you can learn about the history of Ogata Village contributing to Japan's agriculture as a model farming village while responding to changes in social conditions.

At the Ogata Village Reclamation Museum, in addition to the permanent exhibits where you can learn about the current Ogata Village from the Hachirogata Polder Reclamation Project, we also focus on a variety of experiential learning experiences, such as the experience of cooking rice in a hagama pot and the experience of operating large heavy machinery.

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address

5-2 Nishi, Ogata Village, Minamiakita District, Akita Prefecture

telephone number

0185-22-4113

Opening hours

9:00-16:30 (Admission until 16:00)

access

・15 minutes by car from JR Kado Station
・15 minutes by car from Kotooka IC

closing day

・April to September 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month

・Every Tuesday from October to March

・New Year holidays (December 31st to January 3rd)

*If Tuesday is a holiday, the following day will be closed.

Admission fee

・General/University students 300 yen

・Elementary school, junior high, and high school students: 100 yen

remarks

・If you make a reservation in advance, Ogata village guide volunteers can provide explanations of the exhibits and guide you through

Here are three things you can learn at the Ogata Village Reclamation Museum.

the Ogata Village Reclamation Museum ① “Hachiro Lagoon Reclamation Project”

The Hachirogata Reclamation Project was a national project that began in 1957 with the aim of alleviating post-war food shortages in Hachirogata, which was a rich fishing ground with a mix of seawater and freshwater and home to more than 70 types of seafood.

Bringing together Japanese civil engineering technology and with technical cooperation from the Netherlands, land reclamation was carried out in 1966.The Hachirogata Lagoon Reclamation Project was completed in March 1977 after continuing core construction work carried out by the New Rural Construction Corporation.

At a cost of 85.2 billion yen, Hachirogata was reborn as Ogata Village with 17,239 hectares of farmland.

The Ogata Village Reclamation Museum provides easy-to-understand explanations of this situation through exhibits about the water depth of Hachiro Lagoon in the past, as well as a theater exhibit with a large 3-sided multi-screen.

Reference: Akita, the Land of Beauty Net “The Great Project of the Century: Hachiro Lagoon Reclamation”

Reference: Ogata Village Reclamation Museum “Introduction to permanent exhibitions”

the Ogata Village Reclamation Museum ② “The achievements of Peter Phillips Janssen”

Peter Phillips Jansen is a technical consultant born in Dordrecht, Netherlands in 1902.

Regarding Hachirogata, he inspected the site in 1954 and proposed to the government his ``Observations on Japan's Reclamation,'' which explained the outline of the reclamation plan and its advantages, and after visiting Japan several times to provide guidance, the Hachirogata Reclamation Project was implemented. Contributed to the progress of the plan.

This is because in 1957, a storm that hit the Netherlands, a vast area of ​​reclaimed land, caused the embankments facing the North Sea to burst, killing hundreds of people. This is due to the fact that they are now designed to withstand wind and rain as well as rough seas.

Specifically, Peter Phillips Janssen conveyed the following four things to Japanese engineers.

  • Data such as tide levels and rainfall that form the basis of planning should be based on ``probability of exceedance,'' a value that far exceeds past records.
  • Scientifically determining superiority or inferiority based on thorough research results without compromise
  • Surveys should continue before construction begins, during construction, and after completion.
  • All construction work will be done by machinery and completed in a short period of time.

We also devised a unique sand bed construction method that removes mud up to 5m below the embankment and replaces it with sand, then embanking on a 2m sand bed to eliminate the softness of the ground.

At the Ogata Village Reclamation Museum, you can see the achievements of Peter Phillips Janssen and the history of the Hachiro Lagoon Reclamation Project through panel exhibitions.

Reference: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries “Hachiro Lagoon Reclamation ‘A Story of Challenge and Change’ Jansen”

Things you can learn at the Ogata Village Reclamation Museum ③ “Ogata Village Agriculture”

Ogata Village is the first in the country to actively engage in pesticide-free and organic cultivation, and this is because the settlers in Ogata Village are selected from all over the country and then undergo one year of training before settling there. The efforts will go smoothly because of the understanding of agriculture.

For example, Ogata Village began implementing organic farming in the mid-1980s, and stopped aerial spraying of pesticides in 1990.

Currently, the eco-farmer system is reducing the frequency and amount of pesticides and chemical fertilizers used on rice and other agricultural products by 20% to 30%.

The Ogata Village Reclamation Museum uses models and dioramas to provide detailed explanations of the settlers working on the unknown territory of advanced large-scale mechanized agriculture on reclaimed land.

Reference: Ogata Village Encyclopedia “Changes in farmland and agriculture in Ogata Village”

summary

I found that the Ogata Village Reclamation Museum is a museum where you can learn in detail and have fun learning everything from the Hachirogata Lagoon Reclamation Project Plan to what advanced agriculture is like in Ogata Village today.

If you are interested in reclamation projects and agriculture, please come and visit us.

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