About the Akatan Sabo Obira Mizuya Lower Dam
The Akatan Sabo Obira Mizuya Lower Dam (アカタン砂防大平ミズヤ下堰堤, Akatan Sabō Ōbira Mizuya Shimo Entei) is a dry-stone check dam on the Akatani River in Furuki, Minamiechizen, Fukui Prefecture, built between 1897 and 1906 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on July 23, 2004.
The Obira Mizuya Lower Dam stands about 10 meters below the Mizuya Upper Dam, at the top of the Akatan Sabo Dams, and carries registration number 18-0028. It is small, 7.0 meters along the crest and 3.0 meters high, but attached to its downstream side is a stone-paved channel roughly 60 meters long. What makes this entry unusual is that the dam and the channel are registered together as one work.
About 115 meters farther down is the Obira Middle Dam.
Why It Was Registered
The Akatan Sabo Obira Mizuya Lower Dam was registered in 2004 under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs points to the way the builders combined a dam and a paved channel on a steep stream, easing the gradient of the bed and steadying both banks.
A dam on its own can undo itself: water pouring over the crest scours the bed below, and the valley starts to collapse from there. The stepped channel breaks the water's force stage by stage and armors the bed. It shows that the engineers of 1897 to 1906 were thinking beyond simply blocking sediment to shaping how the stream ran.
What to Look For
The Akatan Sabo Obira Mizuya Lower Dam is dry-stone work with a batter of 0.9 to 1, but the real interest lies below it, in the 60-meter channel. Flat stones pave the bed, with a step here and there, so the water comes down in a long series of small drops rather than one big fall.
On a normal day you can watch it pool at each step and slide over the stone like water down a shallow chute. The upper dam is only 10 meters away, and the two dams and the channel read as a single staircase set into the slope of the valley.
Visiting
The Akatan Sabo Obira Mizuya Lower Dam lies deep along the trail, just short of the uppermost dam. Fukui Prefecture estimates the round trip from Retreat Takura to the top of the trail at about 2 hours. The paved channel is slick when wet, so view it from the path rather than stepping down into the streambed.
Visits are possible from April through November; the trail is closed in winter. Parking and directions are on the Akatan Sabo Dams page.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Akatan Sabo Obira Mizuya Lower Dam
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Q&A
- Where is the Akatan Sabo Obira Mizuya Lower Dam?
- On the upper Akatani River in Furuki, Minamiechizen, Fukui Prefecture, about 10 meters below the Obira Mizuya Upper Dam. It is reached on foot along the trail from Retreat Takura.
- What are the channel works at the Akatan Sabo Obira Mizuya Lower Dam?
- A stepped, stone-paved channel about 60 meters long attached to the downstream side of the dam. It breaks the force of the water in stages and protects the streambed from scouring.
- How big is the Akatan Sabo Obira Mizuya Lower Dam?
- It is a dry-stone dam 7.0 meters long at the crest and 3.0 meters high, with a batter of 0.9 to 1.
- Why is the Akatan Sabo Obira Mizuya Lower Dam a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered in 2004 as a sabo work built between 1897 and 1906 that combines a dam and a paved channel on a steep stream and contributes to the historic landscape.
- When can I visit the Akatan Sabo Obira Mizuya Lower Dam?
- From April through November; the trail is closed in winter. The channel is slippery, so view it from the path.
Basic Information
| Name | Akatan Sabo Obira Mizuya Lower Dam |
|---|---|
| Location | Furuki, Minamiechizen, Nanjo District, Fukui Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2004/7/23 (Heisei 16) |
| Quantity | 1 dam |
| Dimensions | Crest length 7.0 meters, height 3.0 meters, with channel works |
| Owner | Fukui Prefecture |
| Public Access | Exterior only, from the walking trail; closed in winter |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Akatan Sabo Obira Mizuya Lower Dam
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004231
- Fukui Prefecture, Sabo Division: Akatan Sabo Dams
- https://www.pref.fukui.lg.jp/doc/sabo/akatan.html
- Fukui Prefecture: Akatan Sabo Dams leaflet (PDF)
- https://www.pref.fukui.lg.jp/doc/sabo/akatan_d/fil/akatan.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.26
