Detail of Grant Awarded General Researches
| Project |
|---|
History and Overview of Water Diversion of Tama River Aqueduct |
| General Research |
No.210 |
|---|---|
| Principal Investigator |
Katsunobu Kosaka |
| Affiliation | Part-time Teacher, Hino City Nanao Midori Elementary School |
| Research Summary |
After 1655, the water diversion of the Tama River Aqueduct made ongoing habitation of the southern part of the water-poor Musashino Plateau possible. In particular, numerous water channels were excavated at the time of the Kyoho Reforms (1716-1745), leading to the creation of many new rice paddies that formed the basis of present-day Tokyo’s urban areas. By around 1791, there were 33 water channels, which supplied water for drinking, household tasks, and rice paddies, as well as being a source of power for water mills. However, some villages eventually struggled to secure water, due to the development of new uses, including for barges and the strengthening of military capacity after the arrival of Commodore Perry’s ships. As a result of the modification of the water channels in June 1870, the 34 channels were consolidated into 17 and the water was subsequently used for industrial purposes as well, including spinning, papermaking, and the manufacture of gunpowder. There were 22 water channels as of 1910, but the volume of water in the 6 channels downstream of Wadabori Pond dwindled as a result of early modern water supply projects. The 16 upstream water channels supplied water to 62 towns and villages, irrigated almost 2,246 hectares of rice paddies, provided drinking water for 18,775 people, and were used by 205 water mills. By 1922, there were 23 water channels and these were used by almost the same number of water mills, but the number of people drinking the water had increased to 24,768, while the area of rice paddies irrigated had halved. The water was also used for many other purposes, including for fire prevention, irrigation, sake brewing, gardening, and miscellaneous other uses, and its usage outside the water use union system also spread. By 1931, the use of reclaimed water had increased, but the development of residential land downstream and the increasingly widespread use of tap water and electricity led to a decline in the use of the water for rice paddies, drinking, and water mills. After the relocation of the Yodobashi Purification Plant in 1965, the number of water channels fell from 16 to 10, but there were some local authorities such as Kodaira City that began considering using the water as a regional resource, for fire prevention and environmental purposes. In Japan, water use unions led by village headmen and other village officials began to be formed in the Edo period. These cooperatives jointly maintained and managed the water channels. As a result of legislation from the Meiji period onward, including the 1891 Ordinance on Water Use Unions, the 1909 Readjustment of Arable Land Act, and the 1949 Land Improvement Act, these became common water unions and land improvement districts and were placed under the supervision of government bodies. However, even after they began to be regulated as public corporations, some unions survived as municipal unions and private organizations. This was because these water channels were used for multiple purposes other than agriculture, so a water management system based on traditional water usage customs was effective. In 2003, Tama River Aqueduct was designated a national historic site. One reason for this was that it was deemed to be “a valuable public works heritage site that provided irrigation water for the Musashino area.” This role was actually played by the water channels created from the Tama River Aqueduct, but it would seem to be a fair description, given that one could not have the water channels without Tama River Aqueduct. However, the water channels (1) provided water for drinking and daily life, sustaining the people who developed new rice paddies in the Musashino area and have inhabited it continually since then, creating the basis for the urban areas of today; (2) provided a source of power for the water mills used to refine grains and mill flour; and (3) were used in early modern times to provide water for industrial purposes, including papermaking, beer and sake brewing, and spinning, as well as drinking water for the National Industrial Exhibition, water for gardening, and water for fire prevention purposes. One must make proper mention of these roles. In future, I would like to seize all opportunities to spread the word about these roles and ensure that they are properly appreciated by the public. In addition, I would like to ensure that the public become aware of the history of the water channels that preceded tap water and realizes that our modern society and lifestyle are supported by the efforts and creative ingenuity of the people who developed those water channels. |
| Collaborators |
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| Full Text | Download (Japanese Only) |
