| Category |
Traditional technique |
River |
Site |
Description |
| Levee |
Manda-no-tsutsumi （Manda Levee） |
Yodo River |
Neyagawa City (Osaka Pref.),Owada |
Built during the reign of Emperor Nintoku and mentioned in Nihon Shoki (first official history of Japan), Manda-no-tsutsumi (Manda Levee) is said to be the first embankment in Japan. |
| Satsuma Levee(bank) |
Abe River |
Shizuoka City (Shizuoka Pref.) |
The Satsuma Levee(bank) is said to have been built by the Shimazu family in the early seventeenth century by the order of Tokugawa Ieyasu to protect the town of Sunpu from floods. Part of the embankment has survived to this day. |
| Groins |
Nage (masonry groin) |
Hiji River |
Otsu City (Ehime Pref.) |
Nage refers to a masonry groin placed at the outer side of a bend in a river and inclined at an angle with the direction of flow. The purposes of nage are to protect riverbanks, keep moats functional and keep waterways navigable. Groins of this type are called "nage" in this region. |
| Kawakura (skeleton) |
Kurobe River |
Kurobe City (Toyama Pref.) |
Kawakura is a kind of seigyu (cattle-shaped skeleton) groin used mainly in rapid rivers. |
| Kasumitei (discontinuous levees) with flood protection forest |
Kasumitei (discontinuous levees) with flood protection forest |
Ara River |
Fukushima City (Fukushima Pref.) |
Kasumitei is a group of discontinuous levees used mainly in rapid rivers. At the time of a levee break during the flood of 1998, a flood protection forest behind the kasumitei prevented flooding of the surrounding area. |
| Mizuya (raised house) |
Boat-shaped house/triangular house |
Oi River |
Fujieda City, Oigawa-cho, etc. (Shizuoka Pref.) |
Boat-shaped houses and triangular houses are mizuya houses designed for use near rapid rivers. In a typical configuration, a bank is built so that it forms an acute angle with the oncoming flood flow to protect the house. |
| Mizuya (raized houses) |
Yoshino River |
Ishii-cho (Tokushima Pref.) |
The house (mizuya) of a wealthy merchant (indigo merchant). The house is surrounded by a wall built with locally produced "blue stone" (chlorite schist). The thatched roof of the main building is designed to float on water in the event of an extreme flood so that the residents can escape. |
| Setback levee |
Chirikutei (Chiriku Levee) |
Chikugo River |
Mine-cho, Kitashigeyasu-cho, etc. (Saga Pref.) |
The Chirikutei is a continuous levee, a rarity in the seventeenth century. This levee is characterized by a compacted-clay core (called "hagane") for leakage prevention. |
| Ring dike with flood protection forest |
Kakiyosetei ring dike with flood protection forest |
Yoshino River |
Anabuki-cho (Tokushima Pref.) |
As is characteristic of ring dikes built for protection from flooding of rapid rivers, the downstream side of this kakiyosetei (literally meaning a scraped-up earth dike) ring dike is open so as to improve drainage. The earth dike is surrounded by a bamboo forest for flood protection. |
| Revetment foot protection |
Fascine mattress |
Shinano River, etc. |
Mainly in the Hokuriku region (incl. Niigata Pref.) |
The fascine mattress method is suitable for use in Japan, where large rocks are not readily available but trees are abundant. In this method, a mattress woven with branches and sticks of various trees is stuffed with stones. This method, which is said to have been introduced by Johannis de Rijke and other Dutch engineers in the Meiji Period, is still in use mainly in the Hokuriku region. |
| Water channels |
Hyakutaro Channel (weir + channel) |
Kuma River |
Taragi-machi (Kumamoto Pref.) |
This channel (length: 19 km long, irrigation area: 1,500 ha) was completed by farmers about 300 years ago. "Hyakutaro" is the name of a boy who was killed as a human sacrifice when the weir was constructed. This work is one of the major projects carried out in the Kuma region in the pre-Meiji years. |
| Bridges |
Stone bridge |
Kikuchi River |
Kikuchi City (Kumamoto Pref.) |
There are many stone bridges in the Kikuchi River basin. |
| Category |
Traditional technique |
River |
Site |
Description |
| Setback levees |
Setback levee |
Near the confluence of the Yoshida and Naruse rivers |
Kashimadai-machi, etc. (Miyagi Pref.) |
In the wake of the August 1986 flood, a project for building a flood-resistant community by constructing setback levees and other structures was launched. |
| Ring dikes |
Ring dike |
Omono River |
Kowakubi area (Akita Pref.) |
It was decided to build a ring dike around the Kowakubi area to protect it from floods as soon as possible. |
| Mizuya (raised houses) |
Raising of house foundation |
Yura River |
Maizuru City, etc. (Kyoto Pref.) |
A regional flood protection plan combining embankment construction in some areas and raising of house foundations in others is under study. |
| Category |
Traditional technique |
River |
Site |
Description |
| Ferrying/water transportation |
Water transportation |
Omono River |
Akita City, etc. (Akita Pref.) |
Since before the Edo Period, water transportation developed at strategic and trade locations in northern Japan, and many landing places developed along the Omono River. These facilities continued to be used for some time even after World War II. |
| Festivals/events |
Shirone Kite Festival |
Shinano River, Nakanokuchi River |
Shirone City (Niigata Pref.) |
A conflict arose between the communities on the right- and left-bank sides of the Nakanokuchi River in connection with flood damage caused by the river. The people on one side of the river flied huge kites in celebration of the completion of a levee on their side. The kite, however, fell in the community on the other side of the river, and its residents retaliated by flying their kites, giving rise to the Shirone Kite Festival. The kite festival is one of the major festivals in the Niigata region, and the municipal government is encouraging local community-building efforts by, for example, building a kite museum. |
| Omiyuki-san Festival |
Kamanashi River |
Kofu City (Yamanashi Pref.) |
Shingen Tsutsumi (Shingen Levee) is a famous embankment built by Takeda Shingen. Upstream of the levee, there is a shrine dedicated to flood safety. The Omiyuki-san Festival is still held in early April (i.e., before the flood season) for raising public awareness of the importance of flood control and stamping down the earth levee so as to compact it. |
| Folktales/legends |
The story of januke debris flow |
Kiso River, Yo River (tributary) |
Nagiso-machi (Nagano Pref.) |
Many lumberjacks were hired to build a house for a noble family, and trees were cut down under the supervision of government officials, but a januke (flood-induced debris flow that leaves a depression resembling a snake track) resulted, and many people were killed?a legend like this one is part of the wisdom of our ancestors to convey historical facts of disasters to future generations. |
