The Middle Dam, Where Water Slides Over Stone
The Azukisawa No. 2 Sabo Dam (小豆沢第二号砂防堰堤, Azukisawa Dainigō Sabō Entei) is a dry-stone erosion control dam built in 1920 at Azukisawa, Miyagawa-cho, Hida City, Gifu Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on March 29, 2019. It is the middle one of the three registered dams on the valley, about 200 meters upstream of No. 1, and at 30 meters long and 4.5 meters high it is the lowest of the three.
It was finished a year after No. 1. Read together, the positions and dates of the dams show the national sabo program that started on the Miyagawa in 1919 working its way up this valley from the mouth. Azukisawa No. 2 stands where the houses give way and the ravine begins to close in.
Why the No. 2 Dam Was Registered
The Azukisawa No. 2 Sabo Dam carries registration number 21-271 and was listed for its contribution to the historic landscape of the country.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out what the dam does to the water: it turns the stream into a sliding cascade in a deep mountain ravine, and it holds its own amid vegetation that returned as the sabo work took effect. The listing, in other words, values not only the structure but the scene it creates, a century after the slopes around it were stripped bare by the floods of 1914.
Like its neighbors, the dam is hand-laid dry-stone masonry, a technique Gifu Prefecture's Sabo Division describes as difficult to reproduce today.
What to Look For at Azukisawa No. 2
The thing to watch is how the water comes down. The stone body of the Azukisawa No. 2 Sabo Dam is laid at a gradient of 1:1, a 45-degree slope. Water spilling over the crest does not drop clear of the face; it spreads into a thin sheet and slides down the stones. The Japanese term for this is namedaki, a gliding fall, and in the photo on the prefecture's signboard the whole face of the dam is veiled in white.
At 4.5 meters high and a 1:1 slope, the face runs roughly 4.5 meters horizontally. That is steeper than the 1:1.5 slope of No. 1, which is why the water clings so closely to the stone. The joints between the blocks break up the flow, so the sheet is never quite smooth and foams white in patches.
At the foot, the apron (mizutataki) has been reinforced with concrete to absorb the force of the falling water and protect the base of the dam from scour. Unlike No. 1, the official description does not mention any reinforcement of the spillway notch at Azukisawa No. 2.
Seeing Azukisawa No. 2 in Person
The Azukisawa No. 2 Sabo Dam is an outdoor structure with no reception desk or admission fee, but it lies more than 200 meters up the ravine from the hamlet, and Gifu Prefecture's published materials do not describe any walking route to it (checked September 25, 2026). The ravine is narrow and the footing is poor, so heading up the streambed is not recommended.
The roadside information board in the hamlet shows a photo of Azukisawa No. 2 and its position on a map, and that is the safest way to see it. No specific photography rules are published. Keep away from the stream during or after rain. Directions to Azukisawa are on the Azukisawa Sabo Dams page.
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Q&A
- Why does water slide down the Azukisawa No. 2 Sabo Dam instead of falling?
- The stone face of the Azukisawa No. 2 Sabo Dam is laid at a 1:1 (45-degree) slope, so water that spills over the crest spreads into a thin sheet and glides down the stones rather than dropping clear.
- Where is the Azukisawa No. 2 Sabo Dam?
- The Azukisawa No. 2 Sabo Dam is on a small tributary of the Miyagawa at Azukisawa, Miyagawa-cho, Hida City, Gifu Prefecture, about 200 meters upstream of the No. 1 dam.
- Can I walk up to the Azukisawa No. 2 Sabo Dam?
- No walking route to the Azukisawa No. 2 Sabo Dam is published by Gifu Prefecture. The ravine is narrow and rough, so the photo and map on the roadside information board in the hamlet are the safest way to see it.
- How big is the Azukisawa No. 2 Sabo Dam and when was it built?
- The Azukisawa No. 2 Sabo Dam was built in 1920 and is 30 meters long and 4.5 meters high, the lowest of the three registered Azukisawa dams.
- When was the Azukisawa No. 2 Sabo Dam registered as a cultural property?
- The Azukisawa No. 2 Sabo Dam was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) on March 29, 2019, under registration number 21-271.
Basic Information
| Name | Azukisawa No. 2 Sabo Dam (小豆沢第二号砂防堰堤) |
|---|---|
| Location | Azukisawa, Miyagawa-cho, Hida City, Gifu Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered March 29, 2019 (Heisei 31) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Crest length 30 m, height 4.5 m |
| Owner | Gifu Prefecture |
| Public Access | Outdoor sabo structure; no reception or admission fee; no published walking route |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Azukisawa No. 2 Sabo Dam
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00012737
- Gifu Prefecture, Sabo Division: Registered sabo facilities in Gifu (in Japanese)
- https://www.pref.gifu.lg.jp/shakai-kiban/kasen/sabo/11653/bunkazai.html
- Gifu Prefecture, Furukawa Civil Engineering Office: Azukisawa signboard and memorial stone (PDF, in Japanese)
- https://www.pref.gifu.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/165619.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.25
